A Promise Never Kept
by orange-sunshiine
Summary: Loki gets mentally de-aged but not physically. Thor (and later, the other Avengers) have to help him.
1. Chapter 1

******A/N: This idea has been in my head for a while, so I wanted to try it. If people think it is a good idea I'll continue, but if you think it's crap then I won't. I am not sure what type of reaction it will get and I really don't want people hating on me for it. Not saying you have to praise it, but a simple "keep going" would be helpful so I don't make an arse of myself.**

Ch. 1

Loki returned to Asgard expecting to face several things. Years in the dungeons, for one. Probably some torture. No doubt Odin would want him to suffer for his crimes. And, truth be told, Loki knew he deserved it.

So when he was marched into the throne room, he was surprised to find Odin looking calm. Almost too calm. It was a bit unnerving, really.

"Thor! I thank you for bringing your brother back. Heimdall says that there were many casualties?"

"Aye." Thor glared at his brother, "Loki caused much destruction and many deaths."

Loki all but rolled his eyes. He hadn't done THAT much damage. A couple of thousand killed at most. Humans were good at re-populating, anyway.

Odin nodded. "You have done well, son."

Then he stood up and began to walk towards Loki.

"You know that you will be punished," he began, looking Loki straight in the eyes. Being unable to speak, thanks to the muzzle, Loki merely stared back at him. "I have thought long and hard about what is best to do with you."

"To the dungeon, then?" Thor asked.

Odin shook his head. "No. I doubt that time there would teach Loki any lessons. It never has before. You know of the sorceress Gróa, yes?"

"Aye. She is the most powerful in all of Asgard, next to Loki of course."

If Loki could have, he would've smirked at that comment. He took great pride in his magical abilities.

"Gróa will use her magic to bring Loki back to a more... manageable age. Perhaps then, with the right treatment, he may grow to be better than he is now."

Thor's jaw dropped, and Loki's eyes grew wide.

"You... you mean that she's going to make him a child again?" Thor asked.

"Aye. Loki will not retain his memories. Further," Odin said, looking at Loki again. The trickster's eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his head. "You will take Loki back to Midgard, to live amongst the mortals there. Perhaps he will learn something from them. Clearly a childhood spent on Asgard did not teach him any good."

Thor didn't know what to say. He understood his father's reasoning, though.

"That is fine. I will speak to the others about this when we arrive. Perhaps we may stay with them," he finally replied.

"Good."

Loki made a sound as if he were trying to speak. Both Thor and Odin looked at him, and Odin smirked.

"Do not worry, Loki. This is a good punishment for you. You will not hurt or suffer in any way."

Loki shook his head 'no', and made another sound, but Odin chose to ignore it this time. He turned to Thor again.

"I will make a formal announcement to the people tomorrow morning, and the ceremony will be performed tomorrow afternoon. For now, you will take your brother to your quarters for the evening. You will find that Gróa has enchanted them so that Loki will be unable to leave."

"Aye," Thor agreed. He wrapped an arm around his brother's shoulder. "Let us go."

00

That evening, Thor slept soundly, but Loki couldn't rest at all. He had tried his best to break the enchantment on Thor's chambers but he had been unsuccessful. Gróa had used a method that he was unfamiliar with. There was no escape.

A million thoughts flew through Loki's mind. He didn't want to be a child again! It was a sentence worse than torture. And to be forced to live with _Thor_ among _the mortals_! Among _the Avengers_! He would have preferred that Odin just kill him outright!

There was only one thing that he could do. Tomorrow, when Gróa performed the ceremony, he would use his magic to fight back. It was worth a shot, at least.

00

The night and following morning went by all too quickly for Loki. He was tired, but his nerves were keeping him aware of everything going on. Gróa would arrive any moment, now, and he would have to fight.

Thor seemed to sense Loki's worry, and did his best to comfort him.

"Do not fear, brother," he said, laying a hand on Loki's shoulder, "I will ensure that no harm comes to you."

Loki shook his head 'no' again, as if to say 'I still don't want this at all!' but Thor brushed it off.

"It will not be as bad as you think."

Thor's replies just made Loki more frustrated. Even Frigga seemed to be on Odin's side! She had hugged him and told him that it was for the best, and not to worry because Thor would take care of him. He had hoped that Frigga, of all people, might have understood.

Then Gróa arrived. Loki had not seen her in quite some time, not since she was a young woman. She barely seemed to have aged, looking just as beautiful as she always had. Her long blonde hair flowed down her back, and her blue eyes lit up as she smiled when she saw Thor.

"Thor! It has been so long," she said, pulling him into a hug.

"It has been." He hugged her back, "You look... radiant."

Gróa smiled even wider, and Loki wanted to gag. Gróa and Thor always had some strange chemistry between them. She, being the good sorceress, he being the golden hero. They had never gotten together for some reason, though.

Odin cleared his throat, and Gróa backed away from Thor. She bowed to Odin.

"I am sorry, my lord," she said.

"Let us move on to the ceremony," Odin replied.

Gróa nodded in agreement.

"Adisa, may I have the herbs?"

A young woman with dark hair stepped forward. Loki assumed her to be Gróa's assistant. The woman handed her a large stone bowl.

"Thank you, my friend," Gróa said. "Now, Thor, you must hold Loki. Ensure that he cannot move at all."

Thor stepped forward, and wrapped his arms around Loki, keeping him firmly in place. His hands were bound, but he could have still tried to run.

Seeing that Loki was secure, Gróa began throwing handfuls of the herbs at him. The dried plants hit him and fell to the floor. Loki glared at her.

"For magic of this magnitude, I require outside assistance. That is where the herbs and Adisa come in," she explained.

No one replied, and Gróa took that as her cue to continue. Adisa came closer to her, and the two women joined hands.

Thor could feel Loki's body tensing as the women began to chant softly.

"Do not try to fight it, brother," he whispered.

Loki just tensed up even more, closing his eyes as to concentrate entirely on his task.

After a few seconds, a stream of what looked like smoke came from the fallen pieces of herbs on the floor. The smoke gathered into a ball that was aimed directly at Loki's chest.

At once, the women stopped chanting, and the ball of smoke surged forward, entering Loki's body. He let out a grunt as he felt it go into him, and immediately began to try to to push it out. He began to shake. Their magic was strong, very strong. The two women, for their part, clasped their hands more firmly together and seemed to be concentrating on forcing the magic to work.

"He's fighting..." Adisa whispered.

Meanwhile, Loki had begun to sweat. He didn't know how much longer he could do this. It was two against one, after all, and being unable to move or speak...

Suddenly, Gróa let out a cry, and collapsed to the ground, taking Adisa with her.

And then Loki felt it. The two had used the last of their energy to-

Everything went black before Loki could even complete his thought.

00

Loki woke up to the sound of Gróa and Odin's voices. He cracked his eyes open, unsure of what was going on.

He was lying on the floor, it felt like. It was hard. His whole body hurt, too. He let out a pitiful sounding groan, and everyone turned their attention to him.

"Father?" he asked, softly. "What happened?"

Loki wanted to cry. Everything hurt all over. He wondered if he had fallen out of the tree that he and Thor often climbed, but he was inside, so that couldn't be it.

No one answered Loki's question, and it made him nervous.

"Shouldn't he be... smaller?" Odin asked, speaking very quietly.

Gróa shook her head. "Yes but... he fought it so hard...it must have only affected his mind."

"What happened?" Loki asked again. He couldn't control it, now. He felt tears building in his eyes, and they began to fall down his cheeks. "What happened? Please... father, tell me," he begged, in between sobs.

Loki felt a pair of arms wrap around him, helping him into a sitting position. Someone was near him, helping him up. He looked over and saw a man with long blonde hair who looked a like like Thor, if Thor was old. It scared him.

"Please!" he begged, crying even harder, "Father!"

Gróa sighed. "Loki... everything is fine. Please calm down. I need to ask you a question."

Loki sniffed, but nodded. His father was watching him and he didn't want to make his father angry by continuing to cry. Men do not cry, father would always say.

"Yes?" Loki replied.

"How old are you?"

Loki raised an eyebrow. That was a strange question. Didn't Gróa know how old he was? Still, he decided to answer.

"Six."

Gróa nodded, and forced a smile.

"Thank you, Loki."

"You're welcome," Loki whispered. He sniffed again.

Gróa whispered something to Odin, and Odin grunted and nodded. He looked angry. His expression made Loki cringe. He must have done something wrong for father to seem so upset. He just wished that someone would tell him what was going on!

"Thor," Odin said, addressing the man with the blonde hair, "Take Loki to your chambers. Let him rest. We will visit you shortly."

Now Loki was extremely confused. Why did Thor look so old?

Thor stood up and helped Loki up as well.

"Come on," he said, taking Loki's hand.

Loki followed along, unsure of what else to do. At least Thor could protect him if father got too upset. He was big enough.

Once the brothers left, Gróa and Odin talked amongst themselves.

"Is there anything that can be done?" Odin asked.

Gróa shook her head sadly. "I know not of any means of reversal."

"Well think of something," Odin snapped, "And do it soon."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews and for following this and favoriting it! I appreciate it. I am still nervous about this, but I hope others enjoy it as much as I enjoy writing it.**

Ch. 2

As soon as Thor and Loki walked into Thor's room, Loki began to cry again. He didn't want to, and he felt embarrassed, but he couldn't help it. He was terrified and in pain.

Hearing Loki's sobs, Thor closed the door. He came back over to his brother and pulled him into a hug.

"It's alright," Thor whispered, running his hands up and down Loki's back.

Loki held on to him tightly and pressed his face against Thor's shoulder. Thor held him for a little while longer before leading him to the bed to sit down.

"What happened?" Loki asked, for what felt like the millionth time. He sniffled and wiped his nose on his sleeve.

Thor quickly found a handkerchief and handed it over.

"Blow your nose, Loki."

Loki did as he was told, then looked at Thor again, hoping for an answer.

Thor sat down next to him.

"Loki, what is the last thing you remember?"

The question made Loki more upset. He began to cry harder.

"I don't know! I just remember waking up! And father is angry at me!"

"Shh, shh. Calm down," Thor said, rubbing Loki's back. "Take a breath, Loki. Everything is alright."

"Everyone keeps saying that!" Loki moved away from Thor and curled up on the bed. He continued to sob.

Thor sighed. "Loki, I'll tell you what happened, but you need to calm down."

Loki took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "P-promise?" he asked.

"I promise."

Loki took another deep breath, and sat back up. His nose was running and he moved to wipe it on his sleeve again, but Thor stopped him. He picked up the handkerchief that Loki had dropped and held it up to his nose, wiping it for him.

"Thank you," Loki murmured. He still looked devastated, but seemed to be trying his best not to cry again.

Thor didn't think it would be good to tell Loki the truth. He didn't know how he would take it. Thor looked his younger brother over. He looked like he normally did. Tall, thin, with adult features. His expression was different, though. The only way that Thor could describe it was as 'innocent'. Loki really seemed to be sad and scared.

"You were playing outside, and you fell and hit your head. I brought you inside so that father and mother could examine you."

"Oh." Loki thought about this for a moment. "But why was father angry? Is he mad at me?"

Loki's eyes were getting watery again, and his hands had started to shake.

"I didn't do anything wrong."

"He was worried, that is why he appeared upset."

"He seemed mad."

"He was not."

Loki sniffled, and seemed to calm down. He trusted his brother to tell the truth.

"Thor, I have another question," Loki said, after he had stopped crying entirely.

"Yes?"

"Why do you look different?"

That was a fair question. Loki probably expected Thor to look like a seven year old, not like an adult. Thor had to think of an answer quickly.

"Do you remember how Gróa was there when you woke up?"

Loki nodded 'yes'.

"Earlier today she was showing us some of the magic she was studying, and she changed how we look." Might as well give Loki a reason for why he would look different the next time he saw himself. Maybe it would keep him from freaking out.

Loki considered this, and his eyes lit up.

"Really?! That's amazing! Do I look old too?"

"Aye. Go look in the mirror."

Loki got up and walked over to the mirror that hung on one of the walls.

"Whoa! Thor, Look!" he shrieked, staring at his reflection in awe. Thor came over and stood behind him. "We're big now!"

The blonde couldn't help but laugh.

"That we are."

"Gróa is amazing!"

Thor smiled at him. "She is. Now, you hit your head pretty hard. I think you should rest."

Loki's smile suddenly turned to a pout.

"But I don't want to."

"You need to rest, Loki. Otherwise you won't get better as quickly."

Loki continued to pout, though he knew that Thor was right.

"...Fine," he finally agreed. He was actually pretty tired.

Thor led him back over to the bed and pulled back the covers. Loki sat on the side, and Thor knelt down to help him remove his shoes. Loki let him do this. Thor often took care of him when he was sick, scared or injured.

"There you go. Lie down," Thor instructed.

Loki laid down on the bed, and Thor pulled the covers over him. The blonde moved to close the curtains so that it would be dark in the room, but Loki grabbed onto his hand, forcing him to stop.

"What is it?" Thor asked.

Loki didn't reply. He just looked at Thor, eyes pleading. Thor then understood what his brother wanted.

"Would you like me to stay with you?"

"Please," Loki replied, very softly.

Thor nodded in agreement. "I will. Let me close the curtains so it's dark."

Loki let go of his hand. Thor closed the curtains, kicked off his shoes, and slid into bed next to his brother. Loki quickly curled up next to him, resting his head against Thor's chest. Loki felt comfortable and calm, and it wasn't long before he fell asleep.

00

Loki ended up sleeping through the rest of the evening. Thor surmised that the magic that had been cast on Loki had taken a lot out of him. Thor himself was up after only a few hours of rest. Carefully as he could, he climbed out of bed, being sure not to disturb his brother.

A quick glance out the window showed that it was dusk. Father and mother would still be up, and Thor hoped to speak to them. He found them in the throne room, talking quietly amongst themselves.

When the two saw him enter, both stood up.

"Thor," Frigga said, "You have good timing. We were just discussing you and Loki."

"I have come to discuss Loki as well," Thor replied. "Perhaps we should take a walk?"

"Aye, that is a good idea," Odin agreed.

Together, the three went outside, eventually ending up in the palace gardens. Lightening bugs lit up against the darkening sky, and the delicate smells of flowers wafted through the air.

"It is a beautiful evening," Frigga remarked.

"It is," Thor agreed.

There was a brief silence before Odin brought up the topic that they had come to discuss.

"How is your brother faring?" he asked.

"He is asleep. He was very upset before, but I was able to calm him down."

"Do you think that it is true, then? He really believes himself to be a child?" Frigga questioned.

"I do. His actions and questions seem to be sincere."

"Then we must decide what to do with him," Odin responded.

"I do not believe it would be best to send him to Midgard," Thor said. "If he were a real child, no one would recognize him. As he is now, the mortals would try to hurt him if they saw him. That would be extremely traumatic for him."

"Our own people may try to hurt him as well, though," Frigga countered.

"We can protect him within the castle. Let us keep him here, at least until Gróa can come up with a solution. Hopefully, she will do so sooner rather than later."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Excuse the incorrect grammar. I figured that when Loki gets upset, he might talk more like a little kid. Since he seems like he was probably smart as a child, I figured he might normally sound kind of like an adult, but would slip up on occasion.**

Ch. 3

Loki woke up the next morning to find that his brother was not by his side. He immediately felt nervous.

"Thor?" he called out.

There was no answer. Cautiously, he got out of bed. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He still looked like a grown up, and he was still in his clothes from yesterday, though it was clear that he had slept in them. That didn't matter, though. He had to find Thor.

Loki opened the door and stepped into the hallway. The stone floor was cold beneath his bare feet, but he ignored it.

"Thor?" he called out again, feeling a bit more frantic.

Still no reply.

At first Loki walked down the hallway, then he broke into a run. He ran to the throne room and found it empty, as were mother and father's chambers. It seemed like everyone had vanished! Now Loki was really starting to panic.

"Thor? Mother? Father?" he called out as he ran through the castle. A few guards looked at him, but none said a word. Loki wondered if they were avoiding him, or angry at him. It seemed like everyone was upset with him for some reason.

He kept running until he found himself at the main entrance. His heart was beating fast and he was sweating. Loki pushed the door open and walked out into the bright morning.

A few civilians were gathered out front, likely visiting the castle. Odin allowed a select few randomly chosen citizens to tour it on occasion.

"Brother?" Loki yelled, looking around. He felt like he was going to cry again.

"Is that him?" someone - an older man - called out.

Loki looked at him, confused.

"Aye, that's him!" Another, younger man replied.

The small group of citizens began to gather closer together. They were all staring at Loki. Then they began to advance.

"Is my brother there?" Loki asked.

He noticed how angry the crowd looked. They started to walk forward, towards him. Clearly something was wrong.

Loki looked to the two guards posted at the entrance.

"Where is Thor? And mother and father?" he asked. Tears were now pouring down his face. Father would surely be angry, but he couldn't hold it back. The two guards merely shook their heads. Neither of them moved. The crowd was drawing closer and closer, some of them were yelling now.

Then, one of them threw something. It missed Loki, but hit the door behind him with a loud THUD. Loki saw a rock fall to the ground.

They were throwing stones at him?

If Loki was scared before, he was flat out terrified now. He could barely breathe. As quickly as possible he opened the door and ran back in, just in time to hear another rock hit the door.

He ran back down the hallway, heading towards Thor's room. He was almost there when he ran into something. Something solid. It knocked Loki back, causing him to fall flat on his backside.

For a second, he was shocked. Then he realized what he had hit, or rather, who he had hit.

Thor was standing in front of him looking very startled. Then, Loki began to bawl hysterically. The past several moments had been very scary.

"Loki!" Thor said, kneeling down so that he was on his brother's level, "Loki, brother, what is wrong?" He shook Loki's shoulders.

Loki cried harder and began to pant. His arms and legs were shaking. He didn't think he could answer Thor. He couldn't talk. He just stared up at the blonde, hoping that he would understand somehow.

At the other end of the hallway, someone started shouting.

"He's in there!" The voice yelled out. Thor and Loki could hear footsteps.

Thor knew that something was wrong. He scooped Loki up and carried him bridal-style back to his chambers. There, he locked the door and set Loki own on a chair.

Loki was still shaking violently.

"What happened?" Thor asked, looking Loki over. His brother didn't reply. Instead he began to turn pale. Loki jumped up and ran to the bathroom attached to the bedroom. A second later, Thor could hear him vomiting.

Sighing, Thor entered the bathroom and began to rub Loki's back. The ex-trickster continued to throw up until nothing was left. Then he began to dry heave. Eventually, he stopped entirely.

Thor cleaned him up and led him back out to the bedroom. He poured a glass of water from the pitcher that he usually kept, and handed it to him. Loki took a small sip.

"Brother, what happened?" Thor tried again.

"You weren't here, so I went looking..."

Loki looked absolutely pathetic, and it made Thor feel terrible.

He sat next to his brother.

"Then what happened?"

"...I went outside, and the crowd yelled and throwed rocks at me. Why were they so mad? Did I do something?"

Thor shook his head, and rested a hand on Loki's thigh. "You did nothing wrong."

Loki sniffed. "I don't understand, Thor..."

"It is not your fault. I promise. I will not allow anyone to hurt you."

Loki sniffed again. Thor took the glass of water from him, set it down, and held Loki once again.

00

By mid-morning, Loki was much calmer. The citizens who had entered the castle were eventually thrown out by the guards, and they hadn't even attempted to break into Thor's room.

"Mother and father should be back, now," Thor said, "They wanted to meet us for breakfast."

Loki was lying on Thor's bed, staring up at the ceiling.

"Alright."

"You ought to bathe and dress in some new clothes."

Loki frowned. "I don't want to."

"You really should," Thor replied, sitting down on the bed. He sniffed Loki, "You smell."

Loki and Thor stared at each other, then both burst out laughing.

"Seriously though, you should."

Loki rolled his eyes. "Fine." He pushed himself up and wandered over to the bathroom.

"Do you need any help?" Thor asked.

"No!" Loki answered.

Knowing that he had a few minutes while Loki was bathing, Thor decided to get some clothes from Loki's room. With how things were going, Thor wasn't sure when his little brother would be going back there. It didn't seem right to make him stay totally alone.

Loki's room wasn't too far away, so took Thor very little time to get his things. He settled on some basic black pants and a dark green shirt. They were clothes that Loki usually wore when he was spending the day inside the castle, and they would be easy enough for Loki to get on and off. All of the buckles on his usual clothes might be too complex.

When he returned, he noticed that it was quiet. The water wasn't running anymore, nor could he hear Loki. Either his brother was relaxing, or something had happened.

Wanting to be on the safe side, Thor knocked on the bathroom door.

"Loki?" he called out.

There was no answer.

Thor pushed the door open. "Loki, are you alright?"

There was again no answer, so Thor walked in. He found Loki sitting on the floor, back up against the bathtub, completely naked. He was cradling his hand and looked upset, though he wasn't crying.

"What's wrong?" Thor asked.

Loki frowned and showed Thor his hand. His skin was bright red.

"I burned it," he said. "It hurts."

There was water in the bathtub, so Thor touched it with his finger. It was scalding hot. No wonder Loki had gotten burned! He reached in and unplugged the drain, then turned on some cooler water.

"Put your hand under the cold water," he instructed.

Loki got on his knees and reached in, sighing in relief as the cold water soothed his skin.

"Good," Thor said, after a few minutes. "Now I will help you take a bath."

Loki made a face, but allowed his brother to help. He didn't want to get burned again.

Thor was extremely gentle when bathing Loki. He washed his back, arms, chest and legs, then began to lather up Loki's hair. It was greasy, having not been washed in quite a while.

"Keep your eyes closed," Thor told him, as he continued to rub the soap into Loki's scalp. When he felt that he had done a thorough enough job, he took a cup and used it to rinse out Loki's hair.

"Now you're done," Thor announced. He helped Loki out of the bathtub, pulling him up with his hands under Loki's armpits to avoid touching his burned hand.

"Thank you," Loki mumbled, blushing. He felt somewhat embarrassed standing there naked. Thankfully, Thor quickly wrapped a towel around him and helped him dry off. The two then walked back into the bedroom.

"Now, let's get dressed and go meet mother and father."

00

The family had breakfast in Odin and Frigga's chambers. The servants brought in more than enough food, and Loki was taking little bits of everything. He seemed to be playing with it more than eating it, though.

"What are you making there?" Odin asked. Loki seemed to be building some type of structure with his food.

"A castle and a dragon," Loki said, pointing to different parts of his design.

"Ah. That is interesting." Odin considered telling Loki to eat his food, but maybe it was good that he was distracted. The three adults could talk about the incidents that had occurred earlier.

"So, Thor, I heard that something happened this morning?"

"Aye. I went for a walk and Loki woke up while I was gone." He looked at his brother, who was slowing down on his building, obviously listening to what the others had to say.

"He ran outside looking for me, and the visitors began to throw stones at him." Loki stopped playing entirely and began to look nervous. Seeing this, Frigga touched his leg in a comforting manner.

Odin nodded. "The guards mentioned that."

"None of them helped me," Loki added, in a very soft voice. "I think they're angry with me. Why is everyone so upset?"

"No one is upset, sweety," Frigga replied, "The guards were..." she tried to think of something to tell Loki so that he didn't feel as if he had done something wrong. Their behavior was inexcusable. Whether they liked Loki or not, he was still a prince of Asgard and he deserved to be treated as such.

"They were on alert. I asked them to keep an eye out for someone," Odin said, coming to Frigga's rescue. "They must have been distracted."

Loki looked confused. That didn't really make sense. The guards were supposed to protect them no matter what, but if father was saying it, it had to be true.

"I will speak to them about their conduct today," Odin finished.

Loki just nodded, unsure of what to say.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Whenever we would ask my parents about something that they didnt want to discuss (sex, for instance, because we wanted to understand it) they would usually say "I don't know." I figured that might be how Thor answers too.**

Ch. 4

Not much changed over the following few days. Odin did speak to the guards, but they still seemed to dislike Loki and only pretended to care about him when other members of the royal family were around. Loki was still mentally regressed, so Thor and Frigga were taking care of him. It seemed as though every time he dared step outside near members of the public, they would attack him. Thus, Loki was only allowed to go outside on castle grounds, when no one was nearby. Odin also disallowed any visitors, but word that Loki was still around AND still an adult had spread amongst the citizens, so some of them still tried to get in.

All of these problems could have been solved if Gróa could figure out how to either make Loki physically a child or bring his adult mind back, but she had not had any luck. She was trying, though. Gróa and Adisa were working around the clock to come up with a solution. The main issue was that, despite his present circumstances, Loki still possessed powerful magic. Gróa had learned this the hard way, when she had tried to test a spell on Loki and he had inadvertently used his magic to throw her and her assistant across the room while simultaneously breaking every window in it. It seemed as though Loki was instinctively using his magic to protect himself, even if he didn't realize it.

The only thing that Gróa could do was try to come up with something that was stronger than Loki's magic, and that was no easy task.

00

It had now been four days since Loki's mind had changed. He and Thor had spent the day outside in the gardens and sparring in the training area. Loki had wondered if perhaps he could beat Thor at sparring for once since he was now an adult. Not wanting to hurt Loki's feelings, Thor had let him win a few times.

Now both of them were tired, especially Loki. Thor had suggested that Loki head back to his chambers - Loki was still staying there - and take a bath and rest. Thor had to speak to mother and would meet him back there in a few minutes.

"Are you sure that you will be alright?" Thor asked.

"I know where to go and what to do!" Loki replied. "I'm intelligent, you know."

Thor smirked. "That you are. Just be careful not to burn yourself again. I will see you shortly."

With that, Thor and Loki walked off in different directions.

When Loki got to Thor's room, he noticed that the door was open. It didn't really concern him. Really, he was just too tired to care.

Sighing, he walked in, closed the door, and took his shirt off. He couldn't help but notice how he smelled. Ever since he'd gotten an adult body, he smelled terrible whenever he would sweat. And he had hair _everywhere_. It was kind of weird.

The sound of something moving broke Loki's thoughts. He looked around the room.

"Hello?" he asked, softly. "Is someone here?"

There was, of course, no answer. Loki looked around for another few seconds before deciding that the sound must have been in his head. He walked into the bathroom and sat down on the edge of the bathtub, carefully starting the water. He wanted to make sure that it wasn't too hot or too cold this time. He was increasing the amount of cold water when the door to the bathroom flew open.

Loki turned and stood up to see who was there, but before he could get a clear look, the intruder punched him in the face. The force of it was strong enough to knock Loki to the ground. He hit his head on the side of the bathtub as he fell. Within seconds, he was unconscious.

00

The next thing Loki knew, he was in a dark room. Wait, no. He was blindfolded. He opened his mouth to speak but soon realized that he was gagged as well. His hands were also tied.

He could hear two voices whispering to each other, and his head was pounding.

"Oh, look, he's awake," one of the voices said.

Loki whimpered in response.

"Shut up!" the other voice hissed. Loki felt a hand smack his face. "Don't make me knock you out again!"

Loki did his best to keep quiet. Maybe if he was good, the men wouldn't hurt him. He was terrified, though.

"Thor just left. I think we're in the clear, now," the first voice stated.

"Good. Help me get him out of the closet. We'll take him out the front."

So he was in the closet in Thor's room. Thor must have come back and looked for him. That was good! Maybe Thor would be able to help!

One of the men lifted Loki up, almost as if he wanted to carry him over his shoulder, but as he did so, Loki's head hit the top of the closet door. Loki whimpered again.

"Shut up!" the angry voice yelled. Then he felt something hit him in the stomach. He had been punched, and it knocked the breath out of him. Loki began to cry. He tried not to, but he was scared.

"What, do you think that if you cry your big brother will come rescue you? He'll never find you. Not once we get outside past those guards who let us in. You think you're safe? Once we get you out you'll wish that you were never born," the other voice spat.

"Oh yeah," the first voice continued, "We're going to torture you real bad. Going to rip your fingers off and cover the wounds with salt, and give you a thousand cuts until you bleed out all over the floor, and that STILL won't be a punishment befitting your crimes. But, it will be close."

"We'd better go now," the second voice said. "We won't have much time. Help me lift him up."

Loki could feel hands all over him as one of the men tried to pick him up. Then, as if the situation couldn't get any worse...

"Stop! Oh, ugh, he pissed on me!" the first voice said, clearly annoyed.

"Same here! How disgusting..."

Loki hadn't meant for that to happen. He was scared. He hadn't gone to the bathroom all day, either, and when the two tried to drag him out it just happened. He wasn't sure what was worse - the embarrassment of having done it, or whatever punishment he would get for it. Either way, he began to cry harder.

"Just... let's just drag him out. Come on."

Loki felt two hands reach under his armpits as the man began to drag him out. The stone floor rubbed against his heels as he was dragged out of the room and into the hallway.

"All clear," the other voice said, "Let's go."

Loki would've fought back, would've kicked if his legs weren't also tied together. If he ever got out of this, father was going to be so upset with him, not even attempting to fight off his attackers. Thor would've fought. Thor would've been able to escape.

Suddenly, the person dragging him along stopped moving. Then he heard voices. Specifically, he heard Thor's voice, and the voices of several guards. A second later, the person holding Loki dropped him to the ground. He could hear a fight going on all around him. He curled up as best he could, trying to make himself smaller so that there was less of a chance that he would get hit.

Another few seconds passed, though they felt like minutes. Eventually everything got quiet.

Someone picked him up again, carrying him like he weighed nothing. The man carried him for a little while before setting him down on something soft. He then untied Loki's blindfold and removed the gag. Loki could see Thor standing in front of him.

"Are you hurt?" Thor asked, looking very concerned.

Loki didn't know what to say. He was still in shock from all that had happened. Finally, he shook his head 'no'. He didn't think he was physically harmed. At most, maybe he would have a few bruises.

"Good. Let me untie your hands and legs and we can get you cleaned up."

Loki understood what Thor meant. He was just being nice about it. It made Loki feel a thousand times more embarrassed.

"I didn't mean... I couldn't..." he started to explain, but Thor stopped him.

"It is alright. I understand."

Loki nodded and watched as Thor carefully untied the ropes that bound him. When Thor was finished, he helped Loki up, led him to the bathroom, and started the water for him.

00

The warm bath water relaxed Loki somewhat, and after a few minutes he felt more comfortable talking to Thor about the events that had just occurred.

"What happened?" Loki asked. "I never got to see any of them."

Thor sighed. "I think the guards let them in. I cannot prove it, but I will speak to them. You do not have to worry about it, though. The men who tried to hurt you are dead, and once I get through the with guards..." he trailed off.

"But... why?" Loki questioned. "Why do all of them seem to hate me? They said that I needed to be punished for my crimes?"

Thor shook his head. He really, really wanted to tell Loki the truth. It just seemed right. He wasn't sure how Loki would react, though. His little brother could be quite moody, even in his youth, and telling him that they hated him because he was a war criminal who had killed thousands on Midgard might just push him over the edge.

"I don't know," he finally replied.

Loki stared at him, looking at him as if to say 'I know you're lying', but he said nothing. Thor was grateful for this. He continued to bathe Loki in silence.


	5. Chapter 5

Ch. 5

Later in the evening, Loki was sleeping in Thor's bed. The younger god was afraid to sleep alone, so Thor had laid with him for a while before Loki drifted off. Now, the blonde was sitting on a chair near the door, keeping watch and thinking. He wasn't sure if Asgard was safe for Loki any more.

The vast majority of Asgard's population hated him. Wanted him to be tortured and killed. Even the guards felt that way. It didn't seem like Gróa was having any luck with her magic, either.

Thor sighed. He could do his best to protect Loki, but there would surely come a time when his back was turned, when he had some emergency to attend to, and then someone would strike.

He wondered if maybe Loki would be safer on Midgard. The people there hated Loki too, but if he could convince the other Avengers to help... well, it would be six of them protecting him instead of three. Of course, convincing the others to help Loki would be a great challenge. Thor was willing to try, though. He had to.

00

"You cannot be serious," Odin said, after Thor had explained his plan. He, Loki, Frigga and Odin were all sitting in the library. Gróa was there was well, doing her best to keep Loki distracted by reading to him from a story book. Thor didn't feel that he could leave Loki on his own, but he didn't think that it would be best for Loki to really listen to the conversation either.

"It is not safe for him here," Thor replied, speaking softly. He glanced over at Loki. His little brother was completely entranced in the story that Gróa was telling.

"And you think it is safer there?" Odin asked, looking Thor as if he had six heads.

"There would be six of us protecting him, whereas here there is only us three."

"Surely your comrades would not agree, though! He killed thousands of their kind!"

Loki looked up when he heard Odin say this. Odin smiled at him, not wanting to worry him. Thankfully Gróa was able to catch Loki's attention very quickly. Still, it was enough to cause Odin to lower his voice.

"Do you truly believe that you could convince them?"

Thor took a deep breath. "Perhaps I could convince the Captain. He is a good man. He would not harm an innocent, and Loki is now an innocent. I must try, at least. Perhaps if they meet him, and see that he will not harm them..." he trailed off.

"What if they try to kill him? It would be one against five."

Thor sighed. "Jane may take us in. She lives in a small town, I could contact the Captain from there and speak to him first."

Once again, both Odin and Thor looked at Loki.

"I will agree on two conditions. One, you must swear not to harm any of the Midgardians if your brother gets into trouble."

Thor stared at him, thinking this over for a minute, before nodding his head.

"I will do my best not to harm them."

"You _will not_ harm them, Thor," Odin said, looking his oldest son straight in the eyes. "Heimdall will be watching."

Thor shook his head. "Fine. What is your other condition?"

"You must return here with Loki once Gróa finds an answer."

Thor nodded again. "That is fair."

"Good. Your mother will help you pack this evening. I suggest that you leave early tomorrow."

00

Frigga did a good job packing everything up. She packed each of her sons two changes of clothes, and a few items to sleep in. As an adult Loki tended to sleep naked, or so Frigga assumed, because she was unable to find any pajamas for him. Considering his mental age, it would only be appropriate for him to wear them, so she consulted Gróa who had used her magic to enlarge some of Loki's childhood PJs, giving him a pair of green ones with little snakes all over them, and a pair of black ones with red stripes. Frigga was glad that she had kept them.

While she was digging out the pajamas, Frigga also found something else for her youngest son. It was a small, stuffed toy dragon that a relative had given to Loki when he was a baby. Loki had named it Arrow, and he carried Arrow everywhere in his youth. It wasn't until his teenage years that he parted with it. She wondered if it might be some comfort to him now, and added Arrow to the bag that she was packing.

After she was done, she visited her sons. She knocked on the door to Thor's rooms, certain that Loki would be in there as well.

She was right. Thor called out for her to come in, and she walked in to see Loki curled up on the bed next to his older brother, who was reading him a story. The sight made her smile.

"Hi mother," Loki said, grinning at her. He was dressed in some of Thor's more comfortable clothes, regular pants and a plain shirt, though both articles hung off of Loki's smaller frame. Frigga couldn't help but think how innocent and sweet Loki looked. It had been a long time since she had seen him happy about something other than deceiving someone.

"Hello my dear," she replied. "I am sorry to interrupt you, but I thought I should come say goodbye for now as you'll be leaving early tomorrow."

Thor nodded, but Loki looked confused.

"We're going to see your friend, right?" he asked Thor.

"Yes, her name is Jane, remember?"

"And then we'll see your other friends too?"

"We may see them."

Loki had been told that he and his brother would be taking a trip to Midgard as a holiday for an undetermined amount of time. Loki had been extremely excited at the prospect of exploring a different realm with Thor. It would be just the two of them on an adventure! Father and mother wouldn't be there to yell at them or tell them not to do things!

Frigga couldn't help but feel nervous when she thought about it, though. She and Odin had told Loki numerous times to do _exactly_ what Thor told him to do, and not to cause any trouble, but she still worried for Loki's safety.

"Are you alright?" Loki asked, noticing the look on Frigga's face.

Frigga nodded, "Yes, my love, I am fine. I will miss you is all."

Loki smiled at her again, and crawled over to the edge of the bed. He stood up and gave Frigga a hug.

"I'll miss you too."

Eventually, the two separated.

"Now, you must get some rest. I have packed everything for you."

"Yes, mother," Thor and Loki said at once.

Frigga leaned in and kissed both of them goodnight. Then she left, hoping that Odin had made the right decision.


	6. Chapter 6

Ch. 6

Thor woke Loki up early the next morning. He helped his little brother get dressed and the two ate a small breakfast before grabbing their bags and going to see Heimdall.

"Are you ready?" Heimdall asked the two brothers. He was one of the very few on Asgard who did not want to harm Loki. He understood that Loki was now an innocent child.

"We are," Thor replied. He took Loki's hand and walked with him up towards Heimdall's post.

"It will be a fast ride," Heimdall explained. "I will use the tesseract to transport you. You will be dropped a few miles outside of Jane Foster's home."

"That is fine," Thor said.

Heimdall nodded, and held the cube up.

"Right, then. Hold on to each other tightly."

A second later, the cube emitted a blinding white light. A portal opened, and Thor and Loki were sucked into it. Thor immediately held on to Loki a little tighter, wanting to ensure his brother's safety.

00

After several twists and turns, Thor and Loki fell out of the sky. Thor did his best to turn around so that he would hit the ground first and cushion Loki's fall. He was successful in this. The impact hurt, but Thor felt that he could take the pain more easily than Loki would.

Thor was the first to move, pushing Loki off of him so that he could stand. He heard his brother groan.

"Get up," Thor said, holding out his hand.

Loki grabbed onto it and allowed Thor to pull him up.

"Are you alright?" he asked, looking Loki over.

"I think so," Loki answered. He looked around. They were in the middle of a desert. It was hot, the sun was beating directly on them. For some reason it made Loki nervous.

Thor sensed this and wrapped an arm around his younger brother's shoulders.

"Come. It is not too far of a walk," Thor said. He flung both of their bags over his free shoulder and the pair started off.

00

For Thor, a two hour long walk wasn't that long. He could handle himself just fine. The same couldn't be said for Loki, though. By the time they reached town Loki was barely able to stand. He was tired, sore and thirsty. Thor found this interesting. Surely Loki's body could handle such exertion. At least, he would've been able to handle it normally. It made Thor wonder if Loki's mental state was somehow affecting him physically.

Either way, Loki needed something to drink and some time to rest. They came upon a bench situated in the shade and Thor bid Loki to sit down.

"I am going to get you some water," Thor explained. He pointed at a building across the street. "I will be there. I will be back very shortly. Do not move from this spot, and shout if there are any problems."

"Yes, Thor," Loki replied weakly.

Thor hadn't been too keen on leaving Loki there, but there didn't seem to be any other decent places to sit nearby and the street was pretty quiet.

He walked into the store and quickly found a large bottle of cold water. He paid for it with a five dollar bill that Jane had given him on his last visit. Thankfully, he had remembered to take it. He had another stroke of luck in that the person behind the register didn't seem to recognize him.

Soon enough, Thor was heading back across the street. Loki was still in the same spot, though he looked even worse than he had a few minutes prior.

"Here," Thor said, opening the water bottle. He handed it to Loki. "Drink it slowly."

Loki didn't listen. He proceeded to chug the water as fast as possible. He regretted this action a second later, when he had finished drinking.

"Are you alright?" Thor asked. Loki had a strange look on his face.

Instead of answering, Loki slowly put the water bottle down, bent over, and began to throw up. Thor frowned, and began to comfort his brother by rubbing circles on his back.

After a minute or so Loki was done, having thrown up the water he had just had. He looked like he was about to cry, though.

"Don't cry, Loki," Thor told him, continuing to rub his back. "We'll be with Jane soon and you can rest there."

Loki sniffed, but did his best not to cry. They had only just gotten to Midgard, he didn't want Thor to take him back because he was a wimp.

"I'm fine," he whispered. Then he stood up and took a deep breath. "Let's go find Jane."

Thor nodded and stood up as well. He wrapped his arm around Loki's shoulder's again, and Loki didn't protest. The two walked silently for another three blocks until they came across Jane's research facility.

00

Thor was nervous about what Jane's reaction would be to him bringing Loki there. Hopefully, once he explained everything, she would allow them to stay.

Well, it was now or never. Thor reached out and knocked on the door.

"Coming!" a female voice - Jane's voice - called out.

The door swung open. Jane was standing there, wearing a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and a black fitted shirt. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail.

"Thor!" she squeeled, reaching out to hug him. She stopped midway through the action once she saw who Thor was holding up.

"And Loki?" she asked, the smile on her face disappearing. "Why the hell did you bring Loki here?"

Loki cringed at Jane's harsh words and was thankful when Thor held him a little tighter.

"Jane, please, let me explain," Thor began, "Loki will not harm you or anyone else."

Loki looked up at Thor. Why did everyone keep saying things like that? He must have done something! Something that had hurt someone, or a group of people.

Jane glared at Thor. "Fine," she replied, "But you'd better not be screwing with me!"

"I assure you that I am not 'screwing' with you," Thor said, unsure of what the term actually meant.

Jane rolled her eyes and let the two in.

00

Jane led the brothers up a flight of stairs and through a doorway. The ended up in what looked like a small apartment.

"Sit down," Jane said, gesturing to a set of couches.

Thor left their bags near the wall closest to the door and led Loki over to the sofa. He sat down and Loki followed, then curled up against Thor. The blonde could feel the heat radiating off of Loki. He was much too hot.

"So, why exactly are you here?"

Loki sniffled again, and Thor was reminded of the lies that Loki had been told regarding the trip and his present circumstances.

"Jane, I know I have a lot to tell you, and I promise that I will explain it all, but is there anywhere that my brother can rest? I believe he is unwell."

Jane frowned and looked Loki over. His skin was red and blotchy and his eyes were puffy, as if he had been crying. His nose was running, too, and he occasionally wiped it with his sleeve. Loki also seemed to be glued to his older brother's side, clinging on to him as if he were afraid that Thor might leave. All of it seemed extremely uncharacteristic of the Loki that she knew.

Jane wasn't sure how to feel. Thor seemed sincere, and she trusted Thor. She didn't like Loki though, sick or not. In the end she decided to let him rest, of only because Thor seemed so worried.

"Yeah, fine," she agreed. "Follow me." She stood up and led the brothers down a hallway and into another room. In it there was a full sized bed covered in a pink and black comforter. "He can rest here."

Thor helped Loki to the bed. The younger god sat down on the side and watched as Thor helped him take his shoes off. Thor also helped him remove his shirt.

"Lie down," Thor instructed.

Loki laid down on the bed, not bothering to get under the covers. He felt too hot for that anyway.

Thor rested a hand on Loki's forehead. "He is very warm, still," he noted.

"Maybe an ice pack would help," Jane suggested. She wondered to herself why she was doing this, why she was helping Loki, before remembering again how worried Thor looked.

"Thank you," Thor said, as Jane walked out of the room.

She returned a moment later with two small bags full of ice.

"Okay...We're going to put one here," she said, moving Loki's arm and placing it under his armpit. "And another one here." She did the same on the other side. "He should cool down in a few minutes."

"Thank you," Thor repeated. "Perhaps we should talk outside?"

"Yes, lets," Jane answered.

"We'll be back shortly," Thor told Loki, who was currently shivering and sweating at the same time.

"Alright," he replied softly.

Thor and Jane walked out, closed the door and went into the other room.

00

"Do you live here now?" Thor asked, taking a more thorough look around. The apartment was sparsely decorated.

"Yeah. These used to be storage rooms, but Dr. Selvig let me fix it up."

"That was kind of him."

"It was. Now, tell me what's going on."

Over the next twenty minutes, Thor recounted his story to Jane. At first Jane seemed skeptical, but then she remembered Loki's actions earlier. He had been clinging to Thor and he had looked flat out pathetic.

"Does he still have magic?" Jane asked, at the end of it.

"He does, but I do not think he understands how to use it. Meaning, I doubt he could do much to harm anyone intentionally."

"That's good, then."

"So you'll let us stay?"

Jane nodded. "It goes against my better judgement, but I trust you, Thor. It is also the right thing to do."

Thor grinned and pulled Jane into a hug.

"Thank you! I knew you would understand!", he said, before kissing her on the lips.

Once they broke apart Jane laughed.

"Yeah, it's fine. Dr. Selvig and Darcy are out of town for the next few weeks anyway."

"Then we have good timing," Thor replied. "I promise that I will help you in any way that I can, for anything that you need."

"I believe you. You know... it's really good to see you again, even if it is under strange circumstances."

"I am happy to see you too. I have missed you."

The two leaned in and were about to kiss again when a loud moan interrupted them. It obviously came from Loki.

"We probably ought to go check on him," Jane said, looking rather disappointed.

Thor stroked her cheek. "Yes, we should. We will have time to be alone, though. He goes to sleep very early."

Jane snickered. "Well that's definitely good to know."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Just because sick and needy Loki is kind of cute. He needs cuddles.**

Ch. 7

Thor and Jane quickly walked back to the room that Loki was in. They opened the door to find him lying on his back, shaking and groaning. The ice packs that Jane had given him were on the floor.

"Loki? What's wrong?" Jane asked, moving to his side. Thor followed behind her. He noticed that there was a little bit of vomit on Loki's chin and on the bed near the side of his face.

"Hurts..." he whimpered, looking at Jane with pleading eyes.

Something snapped in Jane's head. She actually felt bad for Loki. He seemed so pathetic and needy. It activated her maternal instincts.

"I don't understand what is wrong," Thor said, also looking at Jane.

Jane felt Loki's forehead, then touched his shoulder. He was still extremely hot.

"I think he has heatstroke," she replied. "Loki, did you throw the ice packs on the floor?"

"No...Couldn't stop shaking," he answered.

"Alright. Alright, Thor, we need to get him to the bathtub. We're going to give him a cold bath to bring his temperature down."

Thor nodded, reached down and picked his brother up as if he were nothing but a doll.

"Lead the way."

Jane led him out of the bedroom and towards a door at the other end of the hall.

"It's in there."

Thor carried Loki in and Jane followed behind. It was a tiny bathroom, but the three managed to fit.

"Here," she said, putting the lid to the toilet seat down. "Sit him on top of that. We have to get the rest of his clothes off and get him into the tub."

Thor kneeled down in front of Loki.

"Brother, I have to help you undress," he explained.

Loki whimpered again and wrapped his arms around himself.

Thor ignored this and proceeded to help Loki get his pants off, but left his underwear on.

A second later Loki started to cry.

"T-Thor, I want mother!" he cried. "Make it stop!"

Thor wasn't sure what to say. Thankfully, Jane spoke up.

"Loki, we need to give you a cold bath. It will make you feel better." She managed to squeeze past the brothers and reach the bathtub. She turned on the cold water and stopped up the drain. Meanwhile, Loki was working himself up more and more. Not only was he crying and begging Thor to get their mother, but he was hiccuping too.

"Go ahead," she told Thor, moving back out of the way.

Thor picked Loki up and gently placed him into the bathtub. Loki shrieked once he felt the water and did his best to get out.

"Loki! Calm yourself!" he yelled, holding Loki in place. This just caused Loki to cry louder. He began shaking violently again.

Again, Thor wasn't sure what to do. He had never seen Loki this hysterical before. He worried about what Loki's magic might do. They needed to calm Loki down fast.

"Loki, you need to calm down," Thor said, his tone softer this time.

"I want mother!" Loki cried. "Please, Thor...it hurts!"

Jane came to the rescue yet again.

"Thor, let me try," she said.

He sighed and got out of the way.

Loki attempted to get out of the bathtub again, but suddenly stopped when Jane touched his shoulder. She was very gentle. Something about her made him feel calm. Her voice sounded a little bit like his mother's voice did. It was soothing and caring in a similar way.

"Loki, you need to relax. It's okay. I promise," she said. "Your mom isn't here but we can help you. Take a deep breath."

Loki did as he was told, then looked at Jane.

"Good job. Let it out."

Loki exhaled, and his shaking seemed to slow.

Jane sat down on the edge of the bathtub.

"Thor, can you hand me that plastic cup there?" she asked, motioning towards a cup that was on the side of the sink.

Thor picked it up and handed it over.

"I'm going to pour some of the cold water on you. That is all," Jane said, filling the cup up with bath water. It was extremely cold, but that was good.

Loki sighed, then sniffled as she poured the water over his back, then did it again and again.

When the water in the bathtub was high enough Jane turned it off. She continue to sit by Loki and pour water on him though. It took a while, but eventually Loki's skin began to pale, and he began to feel much cooler to the touch. He also seemed completely exhausted.

"Thor," Jane said, "Can you help him out? We'll get him dried off then put him to bed."

"Of course," Thor answered.

The two switched places and Thor lifted his brother out of the bathtub. Jane was standing by, holding open a large towel. Together the couple helped Loki dry off.

"There we go," Jane said, smiling at Loki. "One last thing." She reached over and grabbed a tissue. "Your nose is running."

Loki didn't move as Jane wiped his nose, then threw the tissue in the trash.

00

"Does he have anything to sleep in?" Jane asked. Loki was still in his underwear, which was now soaking wet, and still wrapped in the towel. Neither of those would be sufficient to wear to bed.

"Our mother packed us some sleep wear," Thor replied.

"Great. Why don't you go get that and help Loki get dressed. I'm going to go get Loki some water and find another blanket," she said, referring to the fact that Loki had thrown up on the one that was currently there.

Loki was too tired to fidget or really cause any problems, so it wasn't long before he was dressed in his snake pajamas and lying on the bed. He looked rather comfortable and his eyelids were drooping.

"Now, before you go to sleep, you ought to drink some water," Jane told him, holding up the water bottle she'd brought in.

"Don't wanna," Loki whispered before yawning.

"I know you just want to go to sleep," Jane said sympathetically, "But you need to drink it to make sure that you're hydrated properly."

Loki stared at her, confused by what the term meant.

"If you don't drink it you might get sick again," Jane added.

Loki pouted, but did drink some water after Jane held the bottle up to his lips.

"Good boy," Jane praised him. She put the water bottle down on the nightstand. He'd managed to drink half of it, which was good enough for now.

Loki yawned again.

"Okay. We'll let you rest now. We'll be right outside if you need anything. Just call for us."

Loki nodded and curled up on his side.

Jane smiled at Thor, and the two turned to leave the room. Before they could leave, however, Loki called out for his brother.

"Thor?"

Thor walked back over to Loki's side.

"Yes, Loki?"

"I miss Arrow."

"You do?"

"Mhm," Loki answered, yawning for a third time.

Thor grinned. "I actually think I can help with that!"

He dashed out of the room and returned a minute later holding Arrow. He handed it to Loki.

"Here you go," he said, grinning again as Loki's eyes lit up a little.

"Arrow!" Loki hugged the doll to his chest. "I missed him so much! Thank you Thor!"

Thor reached down and ruffled Loki's hair a little. "Not a problem. Now, get some sleep."


	8. Chapter 8

Ch. 8

With Loki asleep Thor and Jane had some time to themselves. They had talked for a little while, but eventually gave in to their passions. They began by picking up where they had left off earlier.

It had been a long time since either of them had had sex, so when Jane crawled on top of Thor and began licking and kissing his ears, neck and chest, he didn't protest.

The couple had just stripped down to their underwear when they heard footsteps. Both instantly jumped off of each other.

"Loki?" Thor asked, looking around. His brother was standing in the doorway holding Arrow tightly to his chest.

"Dammit," Jane muttered. Thor glared at her.

Loki looked very confused.

"Miss Jane, what are you doing to Thor?"

"Uh..." Thor started, but Jane cut him off.

"Wrestling!" She said, forcing a smile. "We were wrestling. I was winning."

Loki's eyes got wide. "Wow! You must be _really_ strong! Thor always beats me at wrestling!"

"Err... yeah, yeah." Jane grabbed her shirt and put it back on, while Thor sat back and used a pillow to hide his arousal. "So... what'd you want? Are you feeling sick again?"

"No..." Loki answered. He looked down at the ground.

"Well then what's bothering you?" Jane hoped that he hadn't interrupted their 'fun time' for nothing.

Loki frowned. "I just had a bad nightmare," he said, under his breath.

"Oh." Jane actually felt kind of bad. Loki looked very embarrassed.

"Why don't you go back to bed and I'll meet you there in a moment," Thor offered.

Loki nodded, still not looking at either of them, and turned around.

Once he was gone, Thor sighed.

"I am sorry, Jane."

Jane shook her head. "It's not your fault. He's scared and he needs you."

"I know, its just... Please know that I do want to be with you."

Jane smiled. "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll have plenty of time alone once we go to New York."

Thor frowned. He hadn't thought about that all day. He'd been too wrapped up in taking care of Loki and seeing Jane. He was truly worried about what would happen.

"Hey, are you okay?" Jane asked. She rested her hand on Thor's knee.

"I fear that the others will not be as kind as you have been."

"Steve's a good man. I think he'll be fair."

"I hope so."

Thor stood up and searched for his pants. They were behind the couch on the floor. He got dressed and went to go see Loki.

00

Thor walked into the bedroom. The lights were off but the moonlight shined through the window and Thor could make out Loki's form. He was curled up again and holding Arrow while sucking his thumb. It was a strange sight. It made sense - Loki was sad, and when he was a child he sometimes sucked his thumb for comfort, but still, he had a grown man's body. Thor tried to shake it off. He had to focus on helping his little brother.

"Loki?" he called out softly.

Loki took his thumb out of his mouth and sat up. "Thor?"

"I'm right here." The blonde sat down on the edge of the bed. "You said that you had a nightmare?"

Loki nodded slowly, then hung his head. Even in the darkness it was plain to see that Loki was still humiliated.

"You can tell me," Thor tried to reassure him.

Loki was silent for a minute, thinking of how to phrase what was on his mind.

"You... you won't send me back to Asgard, will you?"

Thor hadn't expected that.

"Why would I send you back to Asgard?"

Loki bit his lip. "'Cause I'm not brave and strong like you."

"Loki, I would never do that. You are very brave and strong."

"Not like you..." Loki looked at his hands.

"You are strong in different ways and you were brave to make this trip with me. Now, tell me what you dreamed of."

"I was standing in front of a group of people, and they were afraid of me. I told them to kneel, and they did. Then it changed...I was somewhere else, in a big city, and buildings were falling, people were yelling..." Loki trailed off.

Thor was startled by this. Obviously Loki was remembering what had happened in Germany and New York. He wondered if Loki would begin to remember more as time went on. For now, he had to try to make Loki feel better.

"That sounds very scary," Thor replied. "Were you afraid?"

"I don't know! I think...I think I was afraid when I was in the city. I was afraid that something bad would happen to me."

Thor nodded. "That is understandable."

"It felt so real..." Loki cuddled Arrow closer to him.

"Sometimes nightmares are like that."

Loki sighed.

"Lie down again and I'll stay here with you," Thor promised.

"Okay." Loki got back under the covers and curled up with his back facing Thor. He kept Arrow close by and once again began sucking his thumb.

"Now close your eyes," Thor instructed.

Loki closed his eyes. A second later he felt Thor's hand on his back, rubbing up and down very gently. It was calming, and it wasn't long before Loki fell back asleep.

00

Thor stayed by Loki's side for quite a while, until there was a soft knock at the door. He looked up to see Jane standing there, holding a sleeping bag and a pillow.

"I thought you might want to sleep in here with Loki," she said, "So I brought these. I'll stay in the living room."

It was then that Thor realize that Loki was sleeping in Jane's bed.

"Jane, I apologize, I forgot that this was your room...I was worried about him," Thor explained. He felt like he was doing a lot of apologizing that evening. It made him feel bad.

"It's fine. Really. He needs to rest and a bed is better for that than a couch."

Thor took the items from Jane. "Thank you." He reached out and took Jane's hand and kissed it. "I do not deserve such kindness."

Jane rolled her eyes. "Stop it. It's fine. Get some rest. We'll talk in the morning."


	9. Chapter 9

Ch. 9

Loki woke up early the next morning. Earlier than Thor would've preferred.

"Thor! Wake up!" Loki yelled in Thor's ear.

"It's too early for this," Thor replied, covering his head with a pillow. He was lying on the floor, having set up the sleeping bag that Jane had given him.

"But Thor, I'm bored!" Loki countered. He must've been feeling much better than he had the night prior, because he was full of energy.

Thor sighed, knowing that Loki wasn't going to give up until Thor got up and found some way to entertain him.

"Alright, Loki. You've won. Quiet down so you don't wake Jane."

Loki nodded and jumped back onto the bed. Thor stretched, got up, then sat next to his little brother.

There was a picture box in the room. He had seen something similar at Stark Tower, though the one that Jane had was much smaller than the one there. From what he remembered, the picture box sometimes showed drawings and told stories, and these drawings and stories often entertained children. It was worth a shot.

It took a few minutes, but Thor managed to turn the television on and find a channel showing cartoons. The one on featured a talking sponge and various other creatures. Apparently they lived in yet another realm that was under water.

Thor was confused by it, but Loki was extremely interested. So much so that when Jane woke up and called the brothers to get some breakfast, it was hard to pull Loki away.

Finally, the three were settled a the small table in Jane's kitchen. She had put out some boxes of cereal and milk, along with orange juice for Loki and coffee for Thor.

"Okay, Loki. I have two kinds of cereal: Lucky Charms and Cheerios." She pointed at each box. "Which one do you want to try?"

"Mmmm... that one looks nicer," Loki replied, touching the box with the leprechaun on it.

Jane nodded. "Yeah, kinda figured you'd want that one. Okay then." She poured him some cereal and milk, then turned to Thor and offered him the same choice.

Being an adult, Thor picked Cheerios.

"So I heard you watching television in there?" Jane asked, before taking a sip of her coffee.

"Yes. The 'Sponge Bob' show has caught Loki's interest."

"Did it now?" She looked at Loki, who was happily eating his sugary breakfast.

"I like Squidward. He's funny."

"Yeah, it makes sense that you'd like him too," Jane replied.

Loki looked at her funny, not understanding what she meant, but he shrugged it off.

Soon enough, breakfast was over. Thor helped Jane clear the table, then took Loki back to the bedroom, intending to help him get ready for the day.

00

Thor and Loki stepped out of the bedroom an hour later. Loki had given Thor trouble with everything from getting dressed to not wanting to use the bathroom. Finally, Thor had managed to get Loki into a black and green Asgardian outfit.

"Wow. You're really going to let him wear that?" Jane asked, looking Loki over.

Thor raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"It's just...The shirt is kind of long and all the gold designs..."

"This is normal on Asgard," Thor replied.

"Right. Well you're on Earth, so I'm going to go see if I have any clothes for him. I think Darcy's boyfriend was about the same size as Loki. I'll be back."

"Alright." Thor figured that it might be better for Loki to wear Midgardian clothes. It might make him stick out less if they were in public.

Jane smiled at him and disappeared on her fashion quest.

00

While Jane was gone, Thor gave Loki some pens and paper and allowed him to color. Jane had left them out in case Loki needed something to do. He watched as his brother drew a picture of two people - apparently, himself and Thor - in the middle of what looked like a big city.

"Is that you and I?" Thor asked.

"Mhm," Loki answered. He was focused on the details of the drawing. Considering his mental age, he actually drew pretty well.

"What are we doing?" Thor continued to prod.

Loki suddenly put down his pen.

"It's what I dreamed last night. We were in a city and we were fighting... there were others, too, but I can't remember them as clearly."

"I was fighting with you?"

Loki frowned. "Yes... it was bad. I didn't want to fight with you, not like that."

"Then why did you fight with me?" This was getting interesting.

"I don't know. I just did. It was like I couldn't control myself. I remember feeling mad at you, for something, but I didn't want to hurt you like I was..." Loki trailed off, looking very sad now. He began to crinkle up the piece of paper, not wanting to see it or think about it anymore.

Thor decided to drop the subject for now. It was very clearly upsetting Loki, and that was one thing that he didn't want to do. He had enough to worry about for today, anyway. Soon enough he would have to meet with the Captain, after all.

00

Loki was mid-way through a new picture of some mountains in the middle of a lightening storm when Jane came back.

"We're in luck!", she said, grinning. She was holding a pile of clothes. "Let me show you what I found!"

Thor and Loki got up and followed her into the living room, where she began to lay out the clothes on the couch.

"Darcy's ex-boyfriend James left these here," she said, pointing to a pair of dark blue jeans and two black t-shirts. One of the shirts had a large logo for something called 'Metallica' and the other had a skull and bones on it. "They look about Loki's size."

"They are... interesting," Thor said.

"I like the one with the skull," Loki added.

"Go try them on!"

Thor nodded, and picked up all of Loki's clothes. He took them into the bedroom.

A few minutes later, the brothers both came out. Jane's jaw dropped when she saw Loki.

"You look _so_ cute! Like a little headbanger kid!"

The clothes that she had given looked good. The jeans were somewhat fitted as was the skull and crossbones shirt. He looked like an rocker guy, especially with the long hair.

"Thank you?" Loki asked, unsure if what Jane had said was a compliment.

"_So_ adorable!", she reinterated.

Loki smiled because she was smiling.

"Will Darcy's boyfriend want them back?" Thor asked.

"Nah. He's been gone for a few months now. Totally left the state when she broke up with him. It's a long story, but no, he won't be back, nor will she. Not for a while at least."

"Oh. I am sorry to hear that."

Jane shrugged. "What can you do?"

"I understand."

Thor and Jane stood there awkwardly, both knowing what was to come next.

"So... you have an important trip that you have to make, right?" Jane questioned.

Loki's eyes lit up. "A trip? Where are we going?" He looked at his brother excitedly.

"You are going to stay with Jane. I will be back no later than tomorrow."

Loki pouted. "But why can't I go? That's not fair!" Then his pout disappeared, and he just looked sad again. "Is it because I'm not brave like you?"

Thor felt terrible.

"It is nothing like that. It is a personal trip. I need to meet someone alone."

"Come on, we'll have lots of fun while Thor's gone," Jane said, trying to cheer Loki up. It didn't seem to be working though.

Loki came closer to his brother and hugged him.

"You're gonna come back, right?"

Again, Thor was surprised. "Of course I will come back. Why would you think otherwise?"

"I don't know."

Thor hugged Loki tightly. "As I told you, I will be back no later than tomorrow. Enjoy your time with Jane. I am sure that you two will have fun."

00

Minutes later Thor was walking down the street headed towards the open desert. From there he would use Mjolnir.

It took several hours to get to New York. Mjolnir would only take him so far before he would have to land and ascend again. He was grateful when the journey was over.

Now, he was on the roof of Stark Tower. The other Avengers had been living there since the battle in New York. By some miraculous stroke of luck, Steve was the one who came out to investigate the person on the roof. He was dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a white shirt and he looked very relaxed.

"Thor! I figured it was you, what with the thunder coming in and all. How are you?"

"I am well, Captain. I actually came to speak to you. Privately."

Steve was surprised. "To me? Huh. Okay then. Come on inside."

Thor followed Steve inside and down a series of staircases and hallways before they stopped on a lower level. Steve reached into his pocket and took out a key, then began to unlock the door.

"I figured since you said 'private' we'd take the back way to get here. Avoid everyone else, and all."

"Thank you," Thor replied. This was really too good to be true. He had expected to talk his way out of partying with Tony all night, or at least being forced to catch up with the others for a few hours.

The door swung open and Steve led Thor into his apartment. It was very well kept and minimalistic, and everything seemed to be either white or dark blue.

"Welcome to my home," Steve said, closing the door behind him.

Thor noticed a massive American flag posted up on the wall behind one of the couches. It, and a few black and white photos were all that decorated the walls.

"It is nice," Thor commented. He looked at the photos. "Are these your friends?"

Steve's expression fell a little. "They were, yes. That there," he said, pointing at a young man with dark hair, "That's Bucky. He was my best friend. That's Dum-Dum and that's Jim. They all served with me in the war."

"They look like good men."

"Oh, they were. I could count on all of them."

Steve seemed lost in thought for a few seconds before catching himself.

"I'm sorry about that, man. You came all this way to see me. What's going on? How's everything on Asgard? That's where you've been, right? Oh... can I get you something to drink or eat? I forgot to ask."

Thor had to smile. It was very much like Steve to be so worried about his guest's comfort.

"I am fine. What I have come to discuss is... it is a difficult situation. Before I begin, I chose to speak to you because I believe that you have the most compassion among the Avengers. You are fair and just."

"Thanks. I try to be decent."

Thor nodded in agreement. "Please hear me out before you speak."

"Alright." Steve sat back, ready to listen intently.

"As you know, when Loki was captured, we took him back to Asgard to face punishment. On Midgard, that may mean a prison sentence, possibly a death sentence. What my father imposed on Loki was worse than both."

Steve was really interested now. What could be worse than death? Well, besides losing all of your loved ones to it.

"Odin's plan was for a sorceress to make Loki into a child. To erase his adult memories and bring him back so that perhaps he we could raise him differently. Raise him to be better than the man he turned out to be."

Steve's eyes got wide. He was astonished by the punishment that Loki had faced.

"The sorceress was very powerful, but Loki was stronger. When she tried to use her magic on him, he fought it, and so his mind is that of a child but his body remains that of a man."

"O...kay."

Thor held his hand up, wanting to continue.

"We wanted to keep him on Asgard until the sorceress could find a way to finish the ceremony, to bring him back physically as well as mentally, but the citizens found out that he was still there, and he still appeared to be an adult. They began to attack him physically. Even the castle guards turned against him. It was very traumatic. And so, I had no choice but to bring him here."

"You have to be kidding me. You brought him back to Earth?! Are you out of your mind?" Steve yelled, standing up. "He's- he's a war criminal!"

"Please!" Thor said, trying to calm Steve down. "He is innocent, now. I have come to ask for your help. Perhaps if you talk to the others, they will let him stay. He needs protection. I alone cannot do it. Please, Captain. I appeal to your kindness."

Steve shook his head. "Thor, he may be your step-brother, but he's a war criminal."

Thor was starting to get angry.

"He is no longer a criminal! He is an innocent, now! He needs help. He needs protection. If not, your people will surely find him and injure him, if not worse! Besides...I am not sure that he was in control before."

Steve sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Please, Captain. Would you at least meet him? Speak to him, see that he is no longer a threat. Then perhaps you will understand."

Steve was silent for a minute, a million thoughts running through his mind. He hated Loki almost as much as he had hated Johann Schmidt. The man was evil, pure and simple, and bent on nothing but destruction. But at the same time, if Loki really did have the mind of a child, it felt wrong to damn him to be tortured, despite his past. And what if what Thor was saying was true? Was it possible that something else was controlling Loki?

It felt like an eternity before he spoke up.

"Fine, Thor. I will meet him. But if he is any threat at all-"

"He is not. I swear to it."

"Fine. Fine, I'll give him a shot."


	10. Chapter 10

Ch. 10

Back in New Mexico, Jane was quickly learning how difficult it was to deal with children, especially a kid like Loki.

When Thor had first left, Loki began to sulk around, sitting in the bedroom and staring out the window longingly. Jane felt bad and had done everything in her power to cheer Loki up. Eventually she had gotten him out with the promise of watching The Spongebob Movie on the big screen television in the living room. Thankfully the movie was on Netflix.

So, they had watched Spongebob. After that, Jane prepared dinner - a somewhat healthy meal of meatloaf, mashed potatoes and green beans. Loki played with the potatoes more than he ate them. It made Loki happy, so Jane didn't get on him for it.

Once the table was cleared she decided to teach Loki to make cupcakes. He was actually excited about this. Maybe because he had an interest in magic, which required the occasional brewing of a potion, mixing the ingredients for baking seemed interesting.

They made both chocolate and vanilla cupcakes and Loki did a very good job mixing them. He wasn't even messy about it. Rather, he was very good with measuring the exact amounts of ingredients and stirring everything thoroughly.

Later in the evening, the two settled down in the living room again, eating some of the cupcakes. It hadn't occurred to Jane what giving a kid four sugary cupcakes might do, but she soon found out when Loki got on a sugar high and started to run around the apartment, insisting that Jane play some Asgardian version of 'tag' with him.

That had been fun. Really, it had been. Jane enjoyed it. It made her feel young again, and Loki loved having someone play with him. Even when he won a game he made an effort to tell Jane that she had done a good job. Jane began to think that perhaps Loki hadn't had anyone to play with as a child. He seemed almost desperate to keep Jane happy, like he was afraid that she might go away. Jane filed that thought to a little folder in her mind. She would bring it up later with Thor.

It had taken close to two hours for Loki to get tired. When he finally did, it was close to his bed time. Jane had tried to get him to get ready for bed, but Loki kept begging to stay up. Feeling bad again, Jane agreed. She even agreed to let Loki watch another movie. A movie called 'Child's Play'. That... That had been Jane's biggest mistake. The movie had terrified Loki, and now he was afraid to go to sleep. So, there they were - Loki tucked in to bed, Jane sitting by his side, trying to comfort him.

"Loki, Chucky isn't real. It's just a movie. It's fake. Either way, he died at the end, remember?"

Loki shook his head and held up Arrow, almost as if he wanted the stuffed dragon to protect him.

"I promise he isn't real."

Loki looked at her with big eyes. "If Thor was here he could protect us," he whispered.

Jane sighed and shook her head. "Thor doesn't need to be here because Chucky won't hurt us because he is not real. Darn, I knew I shouldn't have let you watch that movie."

"He's gonna sneak up on us when we don't expect it," Loki whispered.

Jane ran her hand through Loki's hair. "It's going to be fine."

Loki still didn't seem to believe her, but he didn't say anything in reply, either.

"Would it make you feel better if I stay in here tonight?" Jane wasn't sure what else to do. It was almost midnight and it didn't look like Loki was going to be able to go to sleep any time soon.

"Then he'll just get us both!" Loki whined. "I wish Thor was here!"

"No he won't. You remember how I beat Thor at wrestling?" Jane hated to bring that whole thing back up, but she felt it might help.

"Yeah," Loki replied, holding Arrow to his chest.

"Well I'm just as strong as Thor so you have nothing to fear! If Chucky comes in then I'll beat him up. I won't let him get to you."

"I forgot!" Loki said, looking a hundred times calmer, "Oh good! We'll be safe then!"

Jane smiled at him. "Yes, we'll be fine. I'll stay here and fight off any bad guys."

"Alright then."

"Okay. So let's go to sleep."

"Okay," Loki agreed.

Jane turned off the lights and cuddled up next to Loki, and within minutes both were asleep.

00

Tony had been kind enough to let Steve and Thor use one of his private jets without much explanation. Thor had mentioned something about wanting Steve to meet someone in New Mexico, so he assumed that Thor was trying to introduce him to a woman. That was good. Steve needed a lady in his life.

The small aircraft touched down at the local airport just before dawn, and Thor and Steve made it back to Jane's research area just after the sun came up.

Jane had left door unlocked, so both of them walked in. Thor led Steve to the apartment upstairs.

"Are you sure they're here?" Steve asked, looking around. The whole place looked dark.

Thor had to admit that he was surprised not to see either Jane or Loki sleeping on the couch. He wondered if something bad had happened while he was gone.

"They may be sleeping in the bedroom," Thor replied, hoping that he was right.

Both men quietly walked towards the bedroom, and Thor gently opened the door. There on the bed was Jane, who was lying next to Loki, who was cuddling Arrow and sucking his thumb again.

"...Wow," Was all that Steve could think to say. He never would've imagined the God of Chaos sucking his thumb and sleeping with a stuffed animal.

"Do you mind if we let them sleep? My brother needs his rest," Thor asked.

"Uh, no... no."

Thor closed the door and the two headed back towards the living room. Just as they sat down, they heard someone else walk up behind them. They turned to see Jane, standing there in her nightgown.

"Thor," she said, coming over to give him a kiss. "And Captain Rogers. Have you come to help?"

Steve opened his mouth but Thor spoke instead.

"He is here to meet Loki."

"Ohh."

"Did all go well last night?" Thor asked. He had been concerned about leaving Loki alone with Jane.

"Yeah. Well, I might've made one mistake."

Thor looked at her, wanting her to continue.

"He wanted to watch this movie called Child's Play because he thought the doll on the cover looked cool but it ended up being a horror movie so he was up really late because he was scared. I managed to get him to sleep, though." Jane waited for Thor to get angry at her, but his expression remained the same.

"I imagined something far worse than that," he replied, laughing a little.

"I still feel bad about it. It's hard, ya know, because he looks older and all."

"I understand. Loki will be fine, I am sure."

"So... he's really like that?" Steve interrupted. "I mean, he's really like a kid?"

"He is. You'll see it for yourself, though."

Steve nodded. "Right."

00

Loki woke up an hour later. Thor, Steve and Jane were drinking coffee when Loki walked out of the bedroom. He was still dressed in his snake pajamas and his hair was splayed in all directions.

The adult's conversation stopped when they saw him.

"Good morning," Jane said, motioning for Loki to come over. He sat down in the empty seat between Thor and Jane.

"'Morning," he replied, before yawning. Then he realized who was sitting there.

"Thor!", he said, excitedly, "You're back!" He gave his brother a hug.

"Yes I am," Thor answered, "Did you have fun with Jane?"

"We made cupcakes and watched Spongebob and played games. Then she protected me from Chucky! She's really strong, you know."

"I know."

Loki saw Steve sitting across from him. He seemed to be staring.

"Is this your friend?" Loki asked Thor.

"Yes. His name is Captain Rogers."

Loki remembered how his mother had always taught him to be polite. He stood up, walked over to Steve, and shook Steve's hand.

"Hi Captain Rogers. I'm Loki."

"Hi Loki. You, uh... you can call me Steve."

Loki smiled at him and sat back down.

"Miss Jane?" Loki looked at her, "May we have breakfast?"

"Sure thing. Let me go get us some cereal."

Jane returned a moment later holding the Cheerios and Lucky Charm cereals.

"Sorry we don't have more choices," she told Steve.

"Oh, no worries. Cheerios are fine."

The four ate their breakfast, Steve watching Loki the whole time.

"So, Loki... what do you like to do?" Steve asked, looking on as Loki picked all the regular cereal pieces out of his Lucky Charms, leaving only the marshmellows.

Loki stopped doing this for a second and looked up.

"I like to draw, and read, and play with Thor. Oh! You know Gróa right? She put magic on you too?"

Thor tensed up, hoping that Steve would remember what he had told him about the situation.

Steve glanced over at Thor and saw how uncomfortable he looked. He took a chance and decided to play along.

"Yes, I know her. Thor introduced us."

Loki grinned, "So you're like us! We're really young but she made us look older. How old are you?"

"Er..." Steve tried to take a guess as to how old Loki thought he was. Thor had mentioned that he had the mind of a child, but not a specific age. "I'm... eight."

"I figured," Loki said, "Thor is eight too so it makes sense because you're friends. Do you ever play at the castle? I've never seen you."

Thor cleared his throat. "Captain Rogers and I usually play at his home in the city."

"Ohhh." Loki looked down at his cereal again. He seemed almost sad. It made sense that he had never met Cap- Steve before. Thor usually went off on his own to play with his friends and left Loki behind. Still, it was nice to meet him at least.

After an uncomfortable silence, Steve spoke up again.

"Do you like it here? On, um, Midgard?"

"Mhmm. It seems nice. But we haven't been outside much, only once, in the desert, and then I got sick." Loki looked sad again.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

Loki shrugged and took a bite of his marshmellows. He remained quiet for the rest of the meal.

00

Steve watched Loki for the rest of the day. He noticed how Thor helped him get dressed, and how Jane took time to brush out Loki's hair. Really, if you only looked at him, Loki would look like any other guy in his late 20s. Today he was wearing the Metallica shirt and a pair of jeans.

In the afternoon Thor invited Steve to color with them. He hoped that Loki might draw something like the picture he had draw previously - something tied to the events in New York - but it didn't happen. Today he was focused on drawing happy pictures.

"What's that you drew there?" Steve asked, looking at Loki's paper.

"It's me and Thor on the Bifrost," he explained, "And there's Heimdall and Father and Mother." Then Loki's eye caught Steve's paper. "Steve! You're a great artist!"

Steve had drawn a picture of a sunset over the ocean. It was simple but beautiful. The thought of it relaxed him.

"Oh, thank you," Steve replied, smiling.

"It's so pretty... is this on Asgard?"

"No. It's here. It's an ocean, and that is the sun setting over it," Steve pointed to various parts of the picture, "That's the beach, where the sand is, and those are waves rolling in. And that there is a boy and a girl holding hands and looking at the sun set."

"It's wonderful," Loki whispered, continuing to stare at it.

Steve put his pen down and handed the drawing over.

"You can have it."

Loki looked stunned, then he grinned.

"Really? Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." Steve handed him the picture.

Loki took it. "Thank you! Oh, you can have mine, then!" He handed over the drawing of himself and his family. It was good but clearly drawn by a young child.

Steve forced a smile. "Thank you, Loki."

There was really no escaping it. What Thor had told him was true. Not only that, Loki was a really cute, sweet child. He had to help Thor protect him. The problem would be convincing the others to do so as well.


	11. Chapter 11

Ch. 11

Steve had to protect Loki, but he also needed to convince the other Avengers to help as well. From what Thor had described, Loki would probably need it.

Of course, getting them to agree would be easier said than done. Steve knew this. He hoped that if he could talk to them, calmly, that they would at least give Loki a shot.

First things first, though, they had to get Loki onto the jet without the pilot or anyone else recognizing him. With all that had happened, most of Earth's population recognized Loki's face. Many considered him equal to Hitler. He had caused massive destruction and had no regard for life. If someone were to notice him, there could be problems.

It was Jane who came up with a possible solution for this. It involved her making a trip to the local K-Mart. When she returned, she called Thor and Steve over.

"Here you go!"

Jane held up a large black hoodie and a pair of sunglasses.

No one said a word, and Jane rolled her eyes.

"You really don't get it?"

Thor and Steve just continued to stare at her.

"If we pull his hair back in a ponytail and he wears the hoodie and the sunglasses it will be much more difficult for people to recognize him."

"Is my brother not going to ask questions about why he must wear these things?" Thor asked, looking everything over.

"I don't know. Tell him it's a game or something. Or I can get you a pair of glasses and you can wear them too. I don't know what else we could really do."

"It's worth a try," Steve said. "I mean, she's right. We don't have many other choices. Maybe you can just suggest that he wear the clothes," he looked at Thor. "He seems to pretty much do whatever you say."

Thor nodded. "You are right. I will try to get him to wear it. Should we leave for New York tomorrow?"

"I think it would be best. I can sneak you guys in and you can stay in my apartment until I talk to everyone."

"Thank you."

"Well I'll get packing, then," Jane said.

Thor and Steve looked at her again.

"What? I'm coming too."

00

It was easier than Thor thought it would be to convince Loki to wear the outfit and sunglasses. He had ended up telling Loki that they had to avoid being recognized by commoners on Midgard. Once he put on a pair of sunglasses himself, Loki quickly followed suit, wanting to be like his brother. Jane had pulled Loki's hair back into a ponytail and now he was fully dressed.

"Wow. All he needs is a little mustache and he'd look like The Unabomber," Jane noted.

"Who?" Steve asked. Thor was confused as well.

"Nevermind. It's a somewhat recent Midgardian reference."

Both men nodded and dropped the subject.

The plane was to take off at midnight, so around eleven Jane drove everyone to the airport. She left her car in in the long-term parking area and led them inside.

Thankfully, the airport was quiet. The group easily got through security with no questions asked, though the guards did look at Loki a bit funny. As soon as they saw Steve, though, they immediately let everyone through. One of them even went so far as to salute he Captain and thank him for all he had done.

The plane was held in a secluded as it was a private jet. The pilot was waiting outside when the group arrived.

"Captain Rogers," the pilot said, raising his hand to salute him as well.

"Hello John."

"I see you've got guests coming back?"

"Yes, I do. You see that guy with the sunglasses?" he pointed at Loki. "He's a very important person. Don't talk to him; don't tell anyone at all that he's on this plane. Don't even tell Tony Stark if he asks, which he might, just to test you."

The pilot nodded, "No problem, Captain. I understand the importance of maintaining high security."

"Good." Steve turned around, and motioned for everyone to follow him on board.

00

The plane was small but comfortable. Tony made sure that all of his private aircrafts had nice facilities. Jane was checking out the reclining seats that turned into beds when she heard Loki yawn. He was sitting in between her and Thor. Steve was seated across the aisle.

"Tired?" she asked.

"Mhmm." Loki pushed up his sunglasses and rubbed his eyes.

Jane frowned. "I know, it's way past your bedtime. You can go to sleep as soon as we take off, okay?" They had kept Loki up so that he would be ready when they had to leave.

Loki yawned again. "Okay."

Thor looked at his little brother and without saying a word, stood up. He opened one of the overhead bins where they had stored their luggage and found one of Loki's bags. He unzipped it and began rooting around for something.

"Aha," he mumbled, pulling something out.

Loki looked at him curiously.

"Here you go," Thor said, handing Arrow to Loki. He knew that Loki preferred to sleep with Arrow nearby. It seemed to make him feel safe.

Loki smiled at him. "Thank you."

Within twenty minutes they were in the sky and Loki was fast asleep.

00

When they arrived in New York it was close to dawn. Everyone by Steve was resting, trying to get in a few hours of shut eye before the inevitable drama that would occur later on.

The captain came over the intercom again.

"Attention passengers: we will be landing at Stark Tower in approximately five minutes."

The voice woke up Thor who woke up Jane and Loki.

"The pilot says that we will be landing soon," he told them.

At that point, Steve spoke up.

"Guys, one we land, please follow me and do what I tell you. I'm going to get you into my apartment through the back stairways and hallways. Loki, keep your glasses and hoodie on until I tell you its okay."

"Okay," Loki replied, as he stretched his back.

Steve silently said a prayer as the plane touched down. He really hoped that everything would work out.

00

Dawn was a good time to sneak in because it was right around when Tony would be going to bed, and it was too early to wake up the others. Because of all this, the group managed to make it back to Steve's rooms without any issue.

Thor carried Jane and Loki's luggage. This made the trip go quicker.

Steve breathed a sigh of relief as he locked the door behind them.

"Alright, we made it."

"It wasn't that hard," Loki replied.

He still looked dead tired. Steve decided to use this to his advantage. He had to talk to Thor without Loki hearing.

"I have a guest room down the hall, Jane, if you'd like to take Loki so that he can sleep a little longer." Steve looked her straight in the eyes, hoping that she understood what he was trying to do.

"Yeah, sure. Come on Lokes," she said, taking his hand. "You can take off the glasses and hoodie, too."

As she led Loki away, Steve turned to Thor.

"It is imperative that Loki does not leave here until I tell you that it is okay."

Thor nodded, "We can make sure of that. Do you think Anthony will allow him to stay?"

Steve sighed. "I don't know. I hope so. If not, you are to take Loki and get out of here fast. I'm going to tell him that I saw Loki in New Mexico if he gets upset, so at least I'll be able to get back here and warn you. Obviously, you'll want to go somewhere else besides back there."

Thor nodded again. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet," Steve replied.

"Thank you for trying to help us. No matter which way the cards fall, we will both always appreciate it."

00

Steve waited until everyone had woken up and had some breakfast before calling a group meeting. The others would be in a better mood if they'd at least had their coffee. The only one that was not included was Bruce, for obvious reasons. The last thing they needed was the other guy to make an appearance right then.

"What's going on, Cap?" Tony asked, taking a sip of his coffee. He seemed wide awake. Steve never knew how Tony did it – the man barely slept but was almost always able to function at a hundred percent.

"Yes, is everything alright?" Natasha questioned.

"Just… sit down. I need to talk to you about something important."

Tony shrugged and took a seat near Clint.

Once everyone was sitting, Steve reached over and locked the door.

"Hey, what's that about?" Clint asked.

"What we are going to discuss may make some of you upset, so we're going to sit here until we hash it out."

"O…kay," the archer replied.

Seeing that he now had everyone's attention, Steve began.

"If I told you that there was someone who was innocent, who had the mind of a child and who was being persecuted, what would you do?"

"If they were innocent, we would be bound to help them," Natasha answered.

Everyone else nodded in agreement.

"I'm glad that you see it that way. But I have another question. What if the innocent person was not innocent before? What if they did terrible things before they were changed?"

"What do you mean when you say that they were changed?" Tony seemed intrigued.

"Something was done to them in an attempt make them a better person."

"Like they have a brain implant? Or are we talking a Clockwork Orange type deal?"

"You know that I have no idea what that means."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Nevermind. I'm sure you'll get to it soon. Go on."

"There is someone in this situation that I feel we need to help protect. Before I tell you who it is, I want you all to know that I personally investigated them. I watched them for over a day, making sure that the claims being made about them were true. I can vouch that they are. The being is, in fact, now completely helpless."

"Oh, God. I have a bad feeling about this," Clint said.

"Just tell us who it is," Tony called out.

"It's Loki. Wait –" he yelled, seeing Tony stand up, anger written all over his face. "Wait! He's not what you think he is! He's not evil anymore!"

Everyone else was starting to stand up too, all looking very upset.

"Where'd you see him? Where is he?" Tony asked, glaring daggers at the blonde.

"He's… I saw him in New Mexico."

Tony stared at Steve for a second before shaking his head.

"You're a bad liar, Cap. Really bad. JARVIS?"

"Yes, sir?" the AI answered.

"Is Loki in this tower?"

"Yes, sir, he is."

Tony nodded. "And where is he?"

"Mr. Odinson is on the fourth floor in Captain Roger's room."

"Thank you, JARVIS." Tony the proceeded to call his suit towards him. The pieces of the suit crashed through the windows of the room and attached themselves to Tony's body.

Now armed with the suit, Tony walked past Steve, easily pushed him out of the way and threw open the door.

00

In the end, Tony made it to Steve's apartment before Steve could catch up to him. This was due in large part to Natasha and Clint keeping him at bay.

Steve had made it in time to see Tony forcing JARVIS to unlock his door. He charged inside with the Captain right behind him.

"Where is he?" Tony asked, looking at Jane. She was sitting on the couch, watching television.

"What? Who are you talking about?" she tried to stall.

"Don't play stupid with me, lady. Where's Loki? I know that he's here."

When Jane didn't answer Tony began to search the place. He saw Thor in the kitchen, apparently making a sandwich, and he hit him with his arc reactor beam. Thor would obviously try to defend his brother, better just to stall him as much as possible.

It wasn't long before he came upon the door to Steve's guest room.

Tony didn't even bother to knock. He kicked the door in, sending it to the floor. Loki was there. Tony stood directly in front of him.

"You! HOW FUCKING DARE YOU?!"

"Tony Stop it!" Steve yelled, getting in between them. "Leave him alone! I can take them back!"

"No no no! I'm beyond pissed at you and Thor. What the fuck?!"

Natasha and Clint came forward and pulled Steve back.

By now, Loki had gotten off the bed, but in his fear he tripped. He began crawling back towards the corner, terrified by what was happening.

Tony closed in on Loki and removed his mask.

"YOU ARE A DISGUSTING WASTE OF FLESH," he yelled, "AND YOU SHOULD CONSIDER YOURSELF LUCKY IF I DON'T KICK YOUR WORTHLESS ASS SO HARD THAT YOU END UP IN A FUCKING COMA."

Hearing this, Loki curled up and covered his head with his hands, clearly afraid that Tony was going to hurt him.

"Please don't," he cried out, near hysterical, "Please, I din't mean to do anything to you! I don't even know you!"

It was at this point that Thor raced into the room. The arc reactor shot had shocked him, just as Tony had intended. He had been trying to prepare Loki some food.

"Get away from him!", Thor yelled, pushing through the crowd.

Tony wasn't paying much attention to the thunder god, though. The sight of Loki, who was now crying, and Loki's words had caught Tony off guard.

"What'd you say?" he asked.

"Please, I'm sorry, I din't mean to do bad things! Please don't hurt me!"

Tony stepped back, feeling stunned. The look on Loki's face was one of pure fear. It wasn't something that a person could make up or act out. It was real. The way he was crying, too, and what he was saying, it reminded Tony of his own childhood. The Starks had a lot of money, and his father was a genius, but he was also an extremely abusive alcoholic. Countless times he had cornered Tony after a particularly stressful day and had threatened him for things that he wasn't even involved in.

Hearing Loki's sobs brought Tony back to reality and he took another step back.

"What the fuck?" Clint asked, confused by Tony's actions.

"Stop it. Let Steve go. He's not faking it," Tony replied.

"What? You can't be serious!"

Tony moved in, his face only an inch away from Clints.

"I said LET. HIM. GO. He's not lying. Don't make me force you to move."

Knowing that he wouldn't win that battle, Clint backed off, as did Natasha.

Tony walked towards the door, then turned around to face everyone.

"They're going to stay here," he said, "and no one is to hurt them, or hurt Loki, or I'll be beating _your_ worthless asses into a coma. Understand?"

Clint and Natasha glared at him, unsure of what to say.

With that, Tony left the room.


	12. Chapter 12

Ch. 12

Natasha and Clint left soon after Tony, leaving Steve, Jane, Loki and Thor. Loki continued to sit in the corner, sobbing so hard that it shook his body.

Steve ran over to Thor, unsure of what to do, while Jane tended to Loki. She sat down next to him and rested a hand on his shoulder. Immediately, Loki crawled over to her. She opened her arms and he leaned up against her, resting his head on her shoulder.

"Shhh, shhh," she whispered, running her hand through Loki's hair. "It's alright, I promise."

The words didn't help much. Loki was sobbing so hard that he seemed to have trouble breathing.

"Calm down," Jane told him, "Loki, calm down. It's okay! You're safe!"

Loki took a deep, shuddering breath.

"Good boy. It's okay. You're okay."

Loki's body was still shaking, but he was able to breath normally now.

"Is there something we should do?" Steve whispered to Thor, as they watched the scene unfold.

"We must be here for him, too," Thor replied. "That will help him the most."

00

A few hours later, Pepper Potts showed up. She had intended to show Thor and Loki where their quarters would be, but she ran into a problem. Loki refused to speak or move from his spot on the bed. Jane and Thor had helped him lie down earlier, and he stayed in the same position, clutching Arrow to his chest and staring at the wall.

"He's been like that the whole time?" she asked. She and Thor were standing in the doorway.

"Yes. He is very upset."

Pepper frowned. "It's understandable. Poor guy was probably terrified...Well, as long as Steve's okay with it, you guys just stay here. Your rooms are right down the hall when you're ready."

"Thank you, Miss Potts," Thor replied. He always liked Pepper. Not in a romantic way, but he could tell that she was a good person.

"No problem. Listen, if you need anything... anything at all, just tell JARVIS. He'll alert me. Even if it's late at night, its really no big deal."

"Thank you," Thor repeated.

Pepper snorted. "After what Tony put you guys through, it's the least I could do."

00

The next day Loki still refused to move, getting up solely to use the bathroom and even then he waited until it was an absolute necessity. Most of the time, though, he could be found lying on his side, sucking his thumb, looking at the wall and cuddling Arrow.

For the third time that day, Thor came in to try to get Loki to talk or at least eat something.

"Loki," he called out from his spot at the door, "Jane got you a treat."

Loki didn't acknowledge him.

Thor walked towards his little brother. He took a seat on the side of the bed, and held a box of cupcakes in front of Loki's face.

"Jane got these for you. They're chocolate and vanilla because you like those."

"I'm not hungry," Loki whispered.

"You must be hungry. You haven't eaten in over a day. Come on, you don't even have to eat vegetables."

"No thank you."

Thor put the box down on the night stand. He had to address this situation head on, it seemed.

"Is there anything that I can do for you? I...I know that what happened was frightening, but we are safe, now..."

Loki clenched his eyes shut. There was something that he wanted. Information. He wanted to understand.

"Thor... why was that man so angry?"

Thor opened his mouth to reply, but Loki grabbed his hand.

"Please, brother... tell me the truth. Please."

Loki's eyes were pleading. Thor didn't want to do it, but he knew that being honest with Loki was necessary.

"Loki... this... can you at least come here, and sit with me while I tell you?"

Loki nodded and slowly sat up. He crawled over to Thor and leaned up against him, enjoying the feeling of being close to his brother. Thor always made him feel safe and loved.

Thor wrapped an arm around him.

"Loki... I have not told you the truth. None of us have. It is hard to explain to you, and you may have a difficult time understanding it, but I will do my best to explain. You... are not what you were before."

"I don't understand, Thor."

"Do you recall how Groa used magic to make us into adults?"

"You told me she did."

"Yes. I was not truthful. Loki, you are in your adult body because you were fully an adult - mentally and physically - a few weeks ago. You did some terrible things recently. Things that hurt many people here on Midgard, and angered many on Asgard. We... Captain Rogers, Anthony Stark, Natasha, Clint and Bruce... we battled you. Here, in New York. This building that we now rest in, it was one of the few not completely devastated."

Loki gasped in horror.

"But... but Thor, I do not remember that!"

Thor nodded. "Please, let me continue. We managed to defeat you. There were many Midgardian casualties and I took you back to Asgard as prisoner. Father... he had to punish you. Do you understand? He had no choice. But Loki, father loves you, and he did not want to kill you. He asked Groa to cast a spell on you to revert you to being a child, in the hopes that we could raise you to be a better man. Your magic fought hers, and so your mind is young, but your body remains the same."

Thor fully expected Loki to freak out, but he remained oddly calm.

"I see...", he finally replied.

"Loki, you must know that you are no longer that man. You are different. You are innocent. That is why I am protecting you. That is why Captain Rogers and Mr. Stark are protecting you."

Loki said nothing, but he looked devastated. Thor knew that he was putting a lot on his brother, especially considering his mental age.

"I am sorry for lying to you," Thor added.

Loki shook his head, and suddenly, Thor could feel something happening. Loki's skin turned as cold as ice and he felt something like little electric shocks coming off of him.

"Are you alright?"

Loki didn't verbally answer, but right then, the mirror on the wall of the room shattered, followed by a lamp and the light bulb within it. Loki was using his magic to destroy things. A second later, Steve barged in, having heard the noise being made.

"What's going on here?" he asked, looking around. Another lamp shattered.

"Loki, stop it!" Thor yelled, shaking his brother.

The act was enough to distract Loki and stop him from doing any more damage.

"I'm sorry, Thor...I couldn't control it! It just happened!" He began to cry, and Thor pulled him into a hug.

"It is alright, calm down," Thor whispered.

"It's not alright! I am a monster! And I don't even remember any of it!"

"You're not a monster, Loki," Steve said.

Loki glanced at him and sniffled. Steve sat down near the brothers.

"You are different from what you were a few weeks ago."

Loki shook his head, and clung onto his brother a little tighter.

00

Loki coped with the revelation about his past by continuing to sulk. It seemed like nothing helped. Thor had tried speaking to him several times, as had Jane. Steve had tried, too. Even Natasha had given it a shot.

On the third day in, Tony stepped up to try. He knew that Loki had little reason to even give him a chance to speak, considering all that he had done, but he felt obligated. He had spoken to Steve and Thor in depth recently and he felt bad about what he had done.

Loki was staring at the ceiling when Tony entered. Thor had let him in only after he swore not to yell at or injure his brother in any way.

"Loki?" he called out.

Having recognized Tony's voice, Loki immediately sat up and began to back up against the wall again.

"Hey, calm down. I'm not going to hurt you," Tony said, holding his hands up to show that they were empty. Loki stopped moving, but still seemed afraid.

"I'm sorry for what I did to you. I shouldn't have gone off on you like that. It was wrong of me."

Loki said something softly, but Tony couldn't hear it.

"What was that?" he moved closer.

"I said that I did deserve it. Thor told me what I did."

Loki looked so sad and hurt. It bothered Tony. Loki still looked like his adult self but something about his expression was different. It made him seem like a different person. Tony couldn't really explain it other than that Loki really did seem child-like. Granted, he was a very smart child...

"You didn't deserve it. I'm sure that you've heard this several times by now but you.. here, now... how you are now.. You're not at fault. You're innocent, Loki."

"I'm not," Loki replied, his eyes tearing up again. "I've done terrible things. I am sure that father and mother hate me, that is why they sent me here."

"Your parents sent you here because they hoped that you would be better protected."

"Still it's-"

"Does it matter? What can you do about it now?"

Loki was taken aback by this question.

"The answer is nothing. You can't atone for your sins, if that's what you're trying to do. You're a kid. None of us are going to let someone torture a kid."

Tony knew that he was speaking to Loki as an adult, and briefly wondered if maybe it was too much for Loki, because he looked pretty stunned.

"I'm just saying," Tony continued, "That you're safe here. None of us blame you for what happened. We can't. We can't hurt a child. Why not just try to be a good person er... god, I guess, in the future?"

"I guess that you're right," Loki answered.

"I know I'm right."

Tony sat down next to Loki. "Look, I'm sorry for yelling at you. How about we try to be friends and move on."

"Okay..."

Tony patted Loki on the hand. "Good. You know, you're really smart for a kid."

"Thank you," Loki mumbled.

Tony left after that. His talk had done the trick, though, because Loki came out soon after, ready to rejoin everyone.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Two things - one, this party actually happened at my friend's house. Her little niece came over and got into some cheese and cookies and similar events occurred. I always laugh (and cringe) when I think about it. Secondly, I borrowed Tony and Steve's convo from cracked . com because it made me laugh so hard. Search "13 texts from last night from famous super heroes cracked" and you'll see what I'm talking about. It's great. **

Ch. 13

The two hardest things about having Loki at Stark Tower were telling Bruce about it and Clint's reaction to it.

Clint didn't like Loki, and rightfully so. But no matter how many times the others tried to convince him that things had changed, it didn't matter. He still saw Loki as the same god that had taken over his mind and used him to do terrible things.

Considering that, no one was that surprised when Clint opted to leave the Tower. It did cause a brief bout of drama between Tony and Natasha, as Natasha had been close to Clint. She questioned whether it was fair to choose Loki over a team member. In the end, she realized that what Tony, Steve, Thor and Jane were doing was the right thing to do. It was the _hard_ thing to do, but it was _right_.

Bruce had taken the news better. Thor had accompanied Tony and Natasha to tell him. Thor and Tony could at least be some sort of a match for the Hulk, if it came down to it.

The three sat down with him, and explained everything very thoroughly, and Bruce didn't believe them. But, he did ask to meet the 'new' Loki.

Thor, Tony and Natasha didn't like the thought of this - Bruce could change very quickly - but it was probably the only way to prove to Bruce that Loki really was different. And, they could probably get Loki out of there fairly quickly if necessary. So, they brought Loki in.

They were constantly looking for the signs that Bruce might change, but nothing came. If anything, Loki was the one who was freaking out. He seemed to have sensed that he and Bruce had a bad past. Hulk had, after all, pretty much fractured every bone in his body. Thank goodness for his ability to heal extremely quickly. He didn't remember it exactly, but he knew that something was wrong.

The whole time, Loki clung onto his older brother, afraid that this man was going to hurt him somehow.

Loki's actions made Bruce feel bad. He didn't regret what had happened, but seeing anyone cower in fear the way that Loki was was kind of hard to take. He felt the last dregs of anger that had built up leave him, and he knew that the other guy wouldn't come out.

"Hey. I won't hurt you," Bruce said.

Loki just clung to Thor harder. Natasha frowned, and rubbed Loki's back. She had taken a liking to Loki. Like Jane, he brought out Natasha's maternal instincts.

"It will be okay," she told him. "Why don't you say hi?"

Loki took a deep breath and held out his hand, which was clearly shaking.

"Hi," he said, softly. "I'm Loki."

Bruce smiled at him and shook his hand. "I'm Bruce."

Seeing Bruce smile and greet him nicely made Loki feel a little better, and he relaxed. In the coming days they would not be good friends, but at least the two could tolerate each other.

00

The days did go by quickly. Soon enough, Thor, Loki, and Jane had been at Stark Tower for over a week.

Thor continually wondered why they had not yet heard from Heimdall or anyone else on Asgard. Perhaps Gróa had not yet found a spell that would work. Or, perhaps father and mother felt that it was better for Loki to stay on Midgard. There would be less problems for them if Loki was gone. Thor didn't want to think like that, though. Every time the thought came to mind, he tried to push it out.

Loki, on the other hand, had really started coming out of his shell. He had bonded with Natasha and she often spent time with him. Sometimes they would read books. Loki could read very well on his own, but being a child, he also liked it when adults read to him. Natasha was happy to do that. They would often sit together on one of the couches in the common room and read stories like The Wizard of Oz (which Loki loved) or various fairy tales.

Steve and Loki spent time drawing together. Being an accomplished artist, Steve was happy to teach Loki some of his tricks. At the end of every session, the two traded pictures. Steve had plastered the ones that Loki did all over his fridge, while Loki had put some of Steve's up in his bedroom.

That was another thing, too. Thor, Loki and Jane had all moved out into their own quarters. Loki had his own room, and Thor and Jane shared another. It was great for them as a couple, though it wasn't uncommon for Thor or Jane to spent the night in Loki's room if Loki couldn't sleep or had nightmares.

With Tony, Loki had found someone who was just as interested in magic - called Science, on Midgard. He had allowed Loki to show him some of the magic that he could do in safe spaces in his lab, and in turn he had allowed Loki to help him work on basic, non-Iron Man suit related projects. Mainly Loki would pass him tools and sit and watch as Tony did the work, happy to be somewhat included in something.

00

Two weeks after Thor, Loki and Jane had showed up at the Avengers tower, it was Tony's birthday.

Normally, he had a massive party with an open bar and a live DJ. His beautiful guests would get trashed and dance around until dawn the next morning.

This year, however, Tony decided to do something a little more kid-friendly. Rather, Pepper had convinced him to do something a little more kid friendly. Tony merely agreed to it. With all that had happened he hadn't really considered what he would do anyway, so it wasn't like he had to cancel plans.

Steve, Pepper, Jane, Natasha and Bruce were happy to help. They woke up early in the day and decorated the main common area with streamers and balloons. Natasha brought up her Playstation and Wii to hook up to the big screen television, while Steve, Pepper and Bruce set up a table.

The group spent the rest of the afternoon cooking. They actually had a good time. Steve was decent at baking and Natasha, Jane and Pepper were able to handle the tougher stuff. Bruce was there mainly to taste test everything. Being focused on cooking took everyone's minds off of all of the recent stress.

By five o'clock everything was ready. There were various trays of food, a large cake (chocolate, Tony's favorite) and cupcakes (for Loki, because the group was nice like that) and lots of soda. Bruce even managed to get hold of a Slush Machine that made red and blue slushies.

The scene was a surprise to Tony as well as Thor and Loki. Everyone could just see how excited Loki was even though it wasn't his party.

"Wow, guys! This is awesome!", Tony said, looking around. "Did you guys make this banner here?"

"Steve drew it," Natasha answered.

"Ohh, and you got a Slushie machine! Oh my god and you brought up your Wii! I am so going to kick your butt at Super Mario!"

Tony really looked like a kid in a candy store. He immediately jumped in, pouring himself a red slushie an grabbing one of the Wii controllers.

"I call Luigi!" he yelled.

"I'm Mario!" Natasha said, sitting down next to him.

"Hey, I wanted to be Mario...I think?" Steve asked. Video games confused him a bit but he sort of knew who Mario was.

"Nope. You can be Toad."

Steve rolled his eyes and sat down.

Meanwhile, Jane, Pepper, Thor, Bruce and Loki began helping themselves to the food and drinks that were laid out. Loki was mostly interested in the blue Slushies and cupcakes with green frosting, so he basically ignored everything else on the table.

After getting their food, the five found spots to sit where they could watch the others battle it out in The Mushroom Kingdom.

It was a fun time. Natasha came in first for every level and Tony and Steve let people take their spots, having gotten tired of losing. Bruce and Thor took over, though everyone was more amused by Thor's complete inability to remember which character he was and what he was doing. The god managed to lose all of his character's lives within five minutes.

Loki was interested in the game but also still interested in the cupcakes and Slushies, so he used his ninja skills to sneak over and grab more of them whenever no one was looking. By the time Thor finally got angry and destroyed his Wii controller, Loki was feeling pretty sick.

The games stopped for a bit after the controller incident. Thor apologized repeatedly and everyone sat around to talk. At one point Tony made vodka-slushie drinks for himself, Natasha and Jane. It wouldn't hurt, so long as they didn't get REALLY drunk.

"So have you guys heard of the Rolling Stones? I just started listening to them," Steve asked.

Tony snorted. "Yes, Steve. Everyone has."

"Well forgive me, I'm trying to catch up on sixty years of music. What about The Beatles? You probably haven't heard of them."

Everyone started laughing. Tony was laughing so hard that he started crying. This was because everything is funnier when you are buzzed.

"Th-thanks, Hipster Steve. I'll have to check them out."

Then the door opened.

Everyone turned to see Director Fury standing in the doorway.

"Fury!", Tony called out, waving at him. "Come to join our party? You can be Toad!"

"What? Fuck that. I'm _always_ Mario."

Everyone stared at Fury, trying their best not to laugh. He cleared his throat.

"Anyway, I have not come here to debate Super Mario characters with you. I think you know why I'm here."

Steve frowned. "Director, please, you have to understand the whole story. Loki isn't the same person that he was. He's mentally a child. We're trying to protect him."

Fury looked at Loki, who was sitting on the edge of a couch, and began walking over to him.

"Harboring a war criminal," he began, "a war criminal that destroyed much of this very city. You all must know that this was a bad idea! And to keep him when it tore apart your team!"

Thor and Tony stood up, ready to push Fury off of Loki if he tried anything.

"I take it that Clint informed you? Look - You've got to understand that things are different," Tony said. "If me of all people can realize it, then you and the rest of your cronies can too."

"My brother is innocent," Thor added, "He will not harm anyone."

Fury shook his head.

"And you, Loki. You really thought it was wise to come here, after all the devastation that you caused?"

Loki's eyes got wide.

"My brother took me here," he whispered, nervously. He didn't like this man whatsoever.

"Your brother took you here?" Fury repeated, in a mocking tone. "Come on, do you really think that I'm going to fall for your tricks?"

Tony and Thor got closer, Steve and Natasha right behind them. This didn't look good.

Fury turned to look at all of them.

"Listen, he can come with me now, peacefully, or we can come back and fight. The choice is yours." He turned back to Loki, "And you, you are going to have one hell of a time when we get you. We'll make sure that you pay for -"

Fury was cut off by Loki, who had leaned forward and thrown up a rainbow of half digested cupcakes and blue slushy.

"Oh, man, what the fuck?!" Fury asked, taking a step back. His shirt and pants were covered in multi-colored vomit. "I just bought these pants!"

Loki felt a combination of fear and embarrassment. He hadn't meant to do that. His stomach felt better, at least.

A second later, Fury stomped off to the door.

"Leaving so soon, director?" Tony asked.

"You'll be hearing from SHIELD again, Stark," he said. Then he looked himself over again and wrinkled his nose. "Ugh. Keep him away from the sugary stuff in the mean time."

With that, Fury was gone.

Now that they were in the clear, Thor, Pepper and Jane came over to see of Loki was okay.

"It looks like you saved the day, for now at least," Jane noted.

Loki's cheeks were bright red. "I didn't mean to do that..." he replied, noticing that there was puke all over the floor where Fury had been standing. "I'm sorry..."

Pepper shook her head. "Ah, don't worry about it, Loki. Like Tony and I always say, it's not a party at Stark Tower until someone throws up."


	14. Chapter 14

Ch. 14

Later that evening, Thor and Jane were helping Loki get ready for bed. He seemed extremely anxious and couldn't calm down enough to rest. At first he refused to tell either of the adults what was wrong, so they tried different things to make him tired.

Jane read him a story.

Thor made him a glass of warm milk.

Jane read him another story.

All of this did calm Loki down a little bit, but he still had something on his mind and it was clear that he would be awake for quite awhile. Jane was about to give up and tell Loki that he could go watch television when Thor decided to question his brother one last time.

"Brother, are you upset about Director Fury?"

Loki looked at him nervously. "I don't like him and he's going to come back for me."

Thor shook his head and took Loki's hand. "I promise that he will not take you. You have nothing to worry about. We will handle the situation and you will be fine."

"But what if he comes back and you're not there?"

"Sweety, Tony has already stepped up security here. If he comes back we will know. Someone will always be with you."

Loki shook his head, "That's not true."

"Yes it is. Now that we're all working together we can make arrangements to be available."

"No. You leave me alone at nighttime! He could come in then!"

Jane sighed. She knew where this was going. She understood it - Loki was just a kid, and he was afraid, so it was only right, but still she preferred to be able to sleep alone with Thor in their bedroom.

"Do you want one of us to stay here tonight?" She finally asked.

Loki nodded 'yes' and hugged Arrow.

Jane looked at Thor.

"Your turn or mine?"

"I will stay," Thor answered.

"Alright. I'll be in our room, then." She leaned in and kissed Loki on the forehead, and then kissed Thor on the lips.

Of course, Loki was grossed out by this.

"Ew," he said, looking at the couple. "That's disgusting."

00

Loki had a pretty big bed, so Thor slept next to him. As children on Asgard situations like this had happened before - Loki, being the younger one, would be scared to sleep alone, so he would go over to his brother's room and ask to sleep with him. This situation wasn't that different, Thor thought. He was happy to make his brother feel safe, even if it meant missing out on being with Jane.

Loki was Thor's main priority now, though.

After Thor had gotten into bed, Loki had cuddled up next to him and had quickly fallen asleep. Thor, meanwhile, was up late into the night, thinking about all that had happened.

SHIELD would come back, he was sure of it, and while he felt that the Avengers could defeat them, more battles would come. It would be a never ending tug of war over Loki. He felt bad for his brother, who was so sweet and scared. He didn't deserve this.

Sometime around midnight, the sound of Loki's voice broke Thor's train of thought. Loki was mumbling something under his breath, but Thor couldn't figure out what it was. He looked panicked. His fists were clenched as if he were ready to fight someone, and he was begining to sweat.

Unsure of what else to do, Thor patted Loki's arm to wake him up.

It worked all too well. Loki's eyes flew open and he sat up and screamed at the top of his lungs. It nearly made Thor jump out of his skin. He hadn't been expecting that.

He grabbed Loki's shoulders and shook him.

"Loki! You were dreaming!"

Loki was breathing hard and shaking, but Thor seemed to have brought him back to reality. There were then footsteps outside - someone was walking around in the living room. Thor heard the front door open and close, followed by two sets of footsteps towards the bedroom that they were in.

The door flung open and Jane and Steve were standing there, Jane dressed in her pajamas and Steve dressed in a set of sweat pants.

"Are you guys alright?" Steve asked, looking around. "I heard someone scream from all the way down the hall!"

Jane looked very concerned as well.

Thor held Loki closer to him, trying to calm his shaking.

"I think Loki had a nightmare."

Loki whimpered, then began to cry. Thor sighed and hugged him, and Steve and Jane moved closer. Both of them felt very bad for Loki.

Steve rested a hand on Loki's back.

"Hey, come on, it's okay," he said. "It's just a bad dream."

Loki shook his head. "It was worse than that."

Jane, Thor and Steve were confused.

"What do you mean?" Jane asked.

Loki pulled away from Thor.

"I think I remembered what happened."

00

The three adults had stayed up with Loki until the early morning hours, listening to what he had to say. Now, Steve was sitting with Tony, Bruce and Natasha and telling them about it.

"So he says that he remembers falling off of the Bifrost - Thor confirmed that part, by the way. He was falling for days he said, if not longer, until something pulled him from the darkness."

"How could he survive falling through space for days? That doesn't make sense," Natasha asked.

"He's a god. He doesn't need to breathe or eat or drink," Tony answered. "It's just better for him if he does."

"Okay."

"It turns out the thing that grabbed him was the leader of the Chitauri - The Other. That much we already knew. He spoke to the leader and the leader offered him an exchange - he brought back the Tesseract and he would be given an army to take over Earth."

"Sounds right," Tony replied.

"He actually refused."

"Really now?" Bruce asked, "That's interesting."

"Yeah. He said that he didn't want to hurt his brother and something about having had time to think and feeling like he preferred just to slowly die."

"That's... depressing," Tony commented. "But go on."

"Anyway, The Other apparently really wanted him to do it - needed someone who could speak to humans, someone to lead the attack. I guess he didn't want to get his hands dirty. Loki says that he remembers being taken somewhere, to a cell of some type, then being tied down to a table, and then he said it all went blank. Next thing he knew he was on Earth, doing The Other's bidding. Kinda like how Loki used mind control on Clint. Though technically I guess that it was really The Other using mind control on Loki to use mind control on Clint."

"You're serious?" Bruce was shocked. "I mean... if what he's saying is true, why couldn't he fight it? He's a god!"

"I have no idea. He did say that if he tried to speak his own thoughts nothing would come out. Like he couldn't verbalize anything but what The Other wanted him to say."

"I'm not sure if I believe that," Natasha said, "It sounds like he made it up to make himself seem less guilty. Or to feel better about himself. Something like that. It seems too convenient."

"I don't know. He was very upset, and he seemed like he at least believed what he was saying," Steve replied.

"If it is true, then it definitely makes me see him in a different light. I mean, the guy was a jerk to Thor and all but if he wasn't really responsible for the whole thing..." Tony trailed off.

"I know. It sort of changes things," Steve finished.

The group sat around for a few minutes, lost in their own thoughts, before Bruce spoke up again.

"Guys - there might be a way to prove if what he's saying is real. You've heard of Heimdall? The all-seeing gatekeeper?"

"You think that he might've seen it?"

"Most likely."Bruce thought about this for another second, before adding, "Wouldn't he tell Odin, though? Your son being controlled by an evil entity is kind of a big deal."

"Maybe he has his reasons," Steve chimed in. "Maybe Thor could ask him."

Tony nodded. "That sounds like a good idea. Mention it to him, would you? He seems to trust you most, he might listen."

00

Thor, of course, immediately believed his brother's statements, especially when Loki pointed to the back of his neck, where he thought that the Chitauri had cut him. There was a scar there, which was odd, because as a god Loki should have healed entirely. Thor wondered if they had used some type of magic against him.

For most of the day, Thor stayed by Loki's side. Loki was still very nervous and he didn't want to be alone.

The brothers and Jane were watching cartoons when Steve knocked.

Thor answered the door, Loki right next to him.

"It is good to see you again, Captain," Thor greeted him.

"Likewise. And it's nice to see you again too, Loki."

Loki forced a smile in response.

"Is there something that I can help you with?" Thor asked.

"Actually...I kind of wanted to speak to you alone, if that's possible?" He looked at Loki, who seemed to become scared just at the thought of being without his brother for even a few moments. Thor was concerned about this, too.

"Loki, do you think that you could stay with Jane for a little bit, so I may talk to the Captain? I believe she has some of the cupcakes left from yesterday."

Loki immediately turned pale, which was quite a feat considering how white he usually was. He rested a hand on his stomach and looked like he was about to get sick.

"Okay, maybe cupcakes aren't a good idea," Steve said, "Maybe you can Jane can go draw? I'll only need to talk to your brother for a few minutes. Not long at all. Then I can draw with you too, if you want."

Steve's offer made Loki happy. He loved drawing with Steve. Steve could draw anything and draw it well and it always amazed Loki.

"Alright," he answered. He turned to Jane, who was still on the couch but was paying attention.

"I'll go get paper and pencils," she called out.

"Can we use crayons too?"

"Sure thing."

"Oh, that reminds me," Steve said, "Loki, I have a gift for you when Thor and I are done talking. I think you'll like it."

"Really?" Now Loki was truly smiling.

"Yup. Go draw and I'll bring it right over in a few minutes."

"Okay!" Loki practically skipped away, feeling extremely excited.

With Loki out of the way Thor and Steve could now speak.

"What is on your mind that you cannot say in front of Loki?" Thor asked.

"Well, Tony, Natasha and Bruce and I all met this morning. I told them about the things that Loki remembered, and we all agreed that it might be helpful if his claims could be proven in some way."

"My brother is not lying. I believe him, as should you."

Steve put his hands up, trying to stop Thor from speaking.

"I do believe him. The others want to believe him. If we could get proof, though, maybe we could use it to get SHIELD off of our backs. If Loki is truly not responsible for what happened, then they might leave him be."

"You make a good point," Thor replied. "But how would we do this?"

"Wouldn't Heimdall have seen it if the Chitauri had done something to Loki?"

"It is likely, yes."

"So then when you guys go back to Asgard, maybe you can ask? Maybe instead of making Loki a kid physically the sorceress could bring back his adult mind. If he's not guilty, then he shouldn't be punished..."

"This is a good idea," Thor said, "There is one problem, though."

"And that is?"

Thor stepped closer to Steve, and looked around to be sure that Loki was out of earshot.

"I am not entirely sure that father and mother want us back. We have yet to hear anything from anyone on Asgard. I would have thought that by now, Gróa would have found a solution."

"Your parents would really want that for Loki? For him to be stuck here with a child's mind?" Steve asked, dumbfounded. "I mean, I know that there was some problems between Odin and Loki but that seems a little harsh."

"I do not like to think of it. However, it would be much easier for them if Loki did not return. They could live in peace and the citizens of Asgard would be calmer."

"So you think that you guys might be stuck here permanently, then."

Thor frowned. "I hope that I am wrong. But if we do not hear from them, I will simply continue to care for Loki here. I would try to give him a happy life."

"I know you would. We'd all try to help with that, too. I'm sorry for bringing this up. I hadn't realized."

"It is not your fault, Captain. If by some chance we do get called to return, I will speak to Heimdall."

"Good, good."

There were footsteps behind them, and Thor and Steve turned to see Loki peeking into the room. Clearly, he wanted Steve to come draw with him.

"Captain, I recall you saying that you had a present for Loki?" Thor asked.

Loki smiled. "May I have it now?"

"Yes, just give me a minute," Steve answered, "I have to go get it from my room."

As Steve walked out Thor led Loki back to the kitchen, where Jane had laid out several sheets of paper and pencils on the table. Loki was explaining to Thor his drawing of a bird when Steve came back in.

Loki had expected a small gift. He never really got big gifts. Mother and father tended to prefer to give those to Thor. He usually got something cheap that kind of fit the genre of things that Loki might possibly like. Odin never really put much thought into it. So when he saw Steve carrying three large boxes, he couldn't stop grinning.

"Those are for me?!" Loki asked, running over to Steve.

"They are," Steve replied, putting the boxes down on the table. "It's more than one gift, I guess I should've said that. When we were shopping for Tony's birthday we went to a few different stores. I saw some things that I thought you might like and I ended up buying them."

"May I open them?" Loki was about ready to bounce up and down from excitement.

"Yeah go ahead."

Thor, Jane and Steve watched as Loki unwrapped the first box. It contained two t-shirts. One was black and had "I do what I want" written across the chest. Loki giggled when he saw that. Steve felt that it totally described the old Loki but it was also pretty funny now too. The other was green and had an artsy design incorporating several skulls drawn out on it in black.

"Do you like them?" Steve asked.

"They're great!" Loki yelled, "I want to put the green one on now!"

"Hold on, there's still two more boxes."

Loki quickly grabbed the second box and unwrapped it to see a book. It was an illustrated copy of a book called 'Fractured Fairy Tales'.

"Tasha said that you liked fairy tales so I figured you might like it," Steve explained.

Loki flipped through the pages, looking at the different drawings.

"Thank you, Steve!" he said, amused by all of the pictures.

"Okay, last one," Steve pointed to the last box. "That one's pretty delicate so be careful opening it."

"Okay..." Loki replied. He very slowly and carefully unwrapped the paper on it. When Loki saw what it was, his eyes got wide.

"Aw, Steve, you shouldn't have," Jane said, looking at the gift.

"This was very kind of you," Thor added.

Loki looked down, amazed at what was in front of him. It was a complete drawing set, including special pens, markers, colored pencils, a box of a 150 crayons and a few different types of paper.

After a minute of staring at the gift in awe, Loki ran over to Steve and gave him a hug.

"Thank you!" he nearly shouted, "Thank you thank you thank you!"

Steve smiled, "It's no problem. I'm glad you like everything."

"I love it!" Loki seemed to really mean it.

"So should we start calling you 'Uncle Steve' from now on?" Jane asked, smirking. "Because you really seem like that cool uncle who would buy their nephew awesome stuff."

"Uncle Steve," Steve repeated. "Hmm. I think I like the sound of that."


	15. Chapter 15

******A/N: Guest, I wish that you had an account on here so that I could discuss this story and the questions that you brought up. I do not think that Thor is accepting of Odin's actions so much as that he does not want to admit to himself that his father is a terrible being. It is an extremely hard thing to admit, especially considering loving ones family and how he seemed to have valued his father's efforts to teach him and the lessons that he learned. If he admits that his father is terrible it opens a can of worms. He then has to question his mother - why didn't she help Loki, he has to question everyone around him - Gróa, the Warriors 3, everyone really because technically if Odin is such a scumbag then someone at some point should've said something, so does that make him and his friends terrible as well? Does that make sense? I really do wish I could discuss this with you just because what you said was so interesting. I appreciate the insight. It made me re-think this story to an extent.**

Ch. 15

The idea that SHIELD might back off if Loki was proven innocent stuck in Thor's mind.

It would only be a matter of time before they made an attempt at getting to Loki, and it would likely happen sooner, rather than later.

He felt like the hourglass was running out. The only other option besides waiting to be called back to Asgard was to meet with Heimdall and ask what he had seen while Loki was with the Chitauri. The main problem there was that he would either have to leave Loki on Midgard with the others, or take him to Asgard and - if he did turn out to be innocent - try to find a way back to the castle. The civilians would likely attack if they caught sight of Loki, though. Thor could easily defend himself, but it might be harder to defend Loki and it could very well be an extremely traumatic situation.

The question of what to do kept Thor up all evening. He laid near Loki as his little brother slept, trying to figure it out.

Loki was snuggled up against him, resting his head on Thor's chest and clinging on to Arrow. At least tonight he did not seem to be having any flashbacks or nightmares.

Loki was so helpless. That was the problem. If Loki were able to function on his own, he wouldn't mind taking him to Asgard and risking a run through the city. He wouldn't mind leaving him on Midgard, either. But Loki was defenseless. Sure, he had magic, but he couldn't control it well. He also relied heavily on Thor. The blonde wasn't sure if Loki would be alright without him, even if he had Jane and Steve and Tasha and Bruce.

But to sit and wait for an attack was the worst option of all, so Thor forced himself to decide.

Around dawn, he came to his conclusion. He would speak to Loki and the others in the morning, and call upon Heimdall to let him into his homeland. He would question the gatekeeper and take it from there. If he moved fast, maybe he could get back to Midgard quickly so that Loki did not worry.

00

Jane, Steve and the other Avengers were fine with Thor leaving, but Loki did not like the thought of it at all. Not in the least. When he found out the reason that Thor was going it hurt even more.

Thor had been truthful and had explained that he intended to speak to Heimdall to prove Loki's statements. Loki understood this, but it hurt him that the others didn't believe him. They had been so nice to him, yet they did not trust him. Clearly, they did not like him as much as they had let on. It made him wary of being around anyone but Thor, Jane and Steve.

"Loki, I'm sure that the Captain will be happy to stay and draw with you today. He will also stay with you at night, if I am not back by then," Thor told him.

Loki pouted. "But I want to stay with you, Thor! I don't like it when you go away!"

Loki looked like he was about to cry, though he seemed to be trying to hold it back.

"I will not be gone that long," Thor replied.

Loki wrapped his arms around Thor.

"Can't you stay? We are alright here! You keep me safe all the time so why not just stay? Please..."

Telling Loki that he _had_ to leave was one of the hardest things that Thor ever had to do. It was strange, too, because Thor had done many difficult things. Pushing his sniffling, begging brother off of him was almost as difficult as holding him down while Gróa did her magic.

"Promise you'll come back soon?" Loki asked, a single tear falling down his cheek.

Thor wiped it away. "Of course I will be back soon. I promise it. Until then, you can stay with Jane. She and the Captain will help you with anything that you need."

Loki sniffled again. "Alright..."

Thor leaned in and kissed him on the forehead.

"Now, let us go see Jane. The earlier that I leave, the earlier I will return.

00

With Loki now safely with Jane, Thor left the tower. He headed upstate, where large fields separated buildings and homes. He did not want the portal that Heimdall would have to open to draw any attention.

When he found a spot that seemed sufficient, he called out the gatekeeper's name. A few seconds later, the portal opened and Thor stepped through.

00

Thor barely landed on his feet. Traveling using the tesseract was harder than using the Bifrost. There were more twists and turns and it seemed to spit travelers out harder than the Bifrost did. That didn't matter, though. Heimdall was only a few feet away, and Thor wasted no time in going to see him.

"Heimdall!" He greeted the gatekeeper, "I hope all is well?"

"All is fine here," Heimdall replied.

"Good. I assume that you know why I am here?"

Heimdall cracked a small smile. "Of course I do. You seek an answer."

"Aye, that I do."

Heimdall nodded, and closed his eyes, trying to bring up the memory that Thor wanted to know about.

A moment later, he spoke.

"What Prince Loki says is truth. The Other controlled him. Loki fought it...Yes, I remember seeing him. He did not want to harm you... not in the sense that he was forced to."

Thor blinked, trying to take this information in.

"Might I ask how The Other did this?"

Heimdall nodded again. "Something... a small being... it may be part of The Other - he attempted to cloud my vision - was implanted with Loki. They cut him on the back of his neck. The being was able to control Loki's movements, his speech. He could not act against it."

"Then why does it not work now? Why is he no longer attempting to harm me or the others?"

Heimdall sighed, and opened his eyes.

"When Gróa cast her magic upon him, it was strong enough to destroy the being."

"So if he were to be... restored... he would no longer be a threat."

Heimdall snorted. "Loki will always enjoy playing tricks and deceiving others. But, it is unlikely that he will attempt anything on such a large scale again."

Thor couldn't help but grin.

"This is wonderful news! I must go tell father and mother!"

"I am glad to be of help," Heimdall replied, watching as Thor quickly made his way towards the city.

00

Thor had expected his parents to be thrilled at the news that Loki wasn't truly to blame for all that had happened on Midgard. He expected that they would be so overjoyed that they would immediately call for Loki to return, and that they would announce the news to the entire population.

So when Odin showed little to no reaction to Thor's statements about his brother's innocence, he felt confused.

"Father, are you not pleased?"

Odin sighed. "Thor... You do realize what is at stake here, now, do you not?"

Thor raised an eyebrow and stepped closer to his father.

"What do you speak of?"

"If this is true, then we would be forced to go to war with the Chitauri to avenge Loki, and on behalf of your efforts and those of your friends. Do you understand the cost of such a war? The Chitauri are a powerful, determined species - "

"So? We will defeat them. Myself, the Warriors 3, Lady Sif, the Avengers, and if Loki is restored - we would be a force to be reckoned with!"

Frigga took hold of Odin's hand. "Husband, our son may be right. Such a group would at least stand a chance against them!"

Odin shook his head, looking extremely disappointed.

"Are the both of you that dense? Thor, you above all should know the potential devastation that war with the Chitauri could bring! Would you wish to place Asgard in the same peril that Midgard faced?"

"No, but Loki is innocent! He must be restored to his former self! I would happily fight on my brother's behalf!"

Thor was becoming increasingly angry. How could his father care so little for the man that he raised from infancy?

"Do not raise your voice to me!", Odin bellowed, stepping closer to his son. "I know it may hurt you, but I must rule on behalf of the masses. Loki is but one being. I cannot put his needs before those of thousands of Asgardians."

Hearing this, Frigga began to weep. She cared deeply for Loki and hated the thought of him being punished for crimes that he did not commit.

"Please, my lord, he is our son," she begged, hoping that Odin might have some sympathy. "Please!"

Odin merely stared at her coldly.

"My decision is final, Frigga."

"You are a coward," Thor said, glaring at his father. "And you disgust me. You've probably been keeping Gróa from her tasks this whole time, haven't you! If you will not help Loki, than I will, and further, I refuse to bow down to you as king. As of now, you are dead to me. This realm is dead to me."

Frigga began to cry even harder, and began to walk towards Thor. Her oldest son put his arm around her, trying to calm her as he backed away.

"If this is true, than I have no choice but to remove your power." Odin raised his hands, about to release the magic that would strip Thor of his strength and immortality.*

But when he moved to complete this, Frigga blocked him. She, too, had power. It was not as strong as Odin's, but it was enough to throw him back against the wall and stun him, thus giving them a few seconds to run.

Thor picked up his mother and carried her as he ran out of the palace, down the roads of the city to the place where Heimdall stood guard.

"Heimdall! We must leave! Send us to Midgard!" He yelled.

Heimdall had seen what had happened. He could not personally send Thor and Frigga back knowing what Odin's intentions were. So, he did the next best thing. He placed the tesseract on the stand that held it and walked away.

"Hold on to her tightly," he suggested.

Thor did as he was told, and with his free hand, took hold of the tesseract. The item glowed and the portal was opened. Taking a deep breath, Thor carried Frigga in.

*** I wasn't entirely sure how to describe what it was that Odin used to take away Thor's powers. I called it magic because I had no other word for it. I guess Odin used his power to do it in the movie, but technically wouldn't that be magic? Hmmm.**


	16. Chapter 16

Ch. 16

As he had done with Loki, Thor also did his best to cushion Frigga as they landed. They hit the top of Stark Tower going full force. They struck the roof with enough power to collapse through it. The two gods fell through, landing on the top floor in front of a very confused and frightened receptionist.

"Ohmygod!" she squealed, jumping back from her desk. Eyes wide, she grabbed hold of her phone and frantically began to dial. "Security! Two people just.. just.. just fell through the roof! Yes they're here! They're alive! Come up here, dammit!"

She slammed the phone down just as Thor was helping Frigga up. Her expression changed as she realized who was standing before her.

"Thor?" She asked, nervously.

"Aye. I apologize for the damage to the building, but we do not have time to speak, we must be going lest Odin -"

Frigga shook her head. "Thor, I am blocking him."

"You can do that?"

"Aye. I am the only one capable of it."

Meanwhile, the receptionist was still staring, seemingly in shock.

"Uh... um. Yeah. Okay. Can... can you give me one minute?" The receptionist picked up her phone again and called security off.

It was right then that Tony appeared, donning his Iron Man suit.

"I heard that there was some trouble up here?" he questioned.

"Ah... No... It was just Thor and his friend, here..."

Tony removed his mask.

"It's okay, Marie," he said, looking at his employee. "Why don't you go take a break. Relax. I'll take care of Thor here."

"O-okay," Marie replied, before scampering from the room.

"I am sorry for putting a hole in your building," Thor told him. "It was not intentional."

Tony waved his hand. "It's fine. Nothing that can't be fixed. Now, I see that you've brought a guest?"

"This is my mother, Frigga, Queen of Asgard," Thor said.

Frigga smiled at Tony.

"It's nice to meet you, Frigga. I'd shake your hand but..." he glanced down at his suit, "It might hurt. I am glad that you are here, though."

"And why is that?" Frigga asked.

"Because I'm sure that Loki will be thrilled to see you."

Frigga grinned.

"I would love to see him too."

00

Tony led Thor and Frigga down a hallway towards an elevator.

"How is my brother?" Thor asked, once they were inside.

"He's fine. The first night you were gone he got a little bit upset, but Steve calmed him down. He keeps asking when you'll come back too. Other than that he's okay. Jane's been taking care of him and Steve's been coloring with him."

"Good."

They got off the elevator on the floor where Thor, Loki and Jane's quarters were. As they walked down the hallway, Thor and Frigga noticed several pieces of paper taped to the walls. Each of them had a different picture on it.

"Loki and Steve drew those," Tony explained, stopping in front of a picture of Thor and Loki at the beach. "I think Steve taught him how to draw the ocean."

Next to that picture was another one, drawn entirely in black ink by a skilled hand. It showed Loki and Thor standing together, Loki holding Arrow in his arms.

"Steve drew that one, obviously," Tony commented.

Thor smiled. It was a great picture. Steve really was very talented. As Tony and Frigga began to continue down the hall, he stayed behind and carefully pulled the picture off, intending to keep it for himself.

00

Tony opened the door to Thor's quarters and allowed Thor and Frigga to go in first.

They walked into the living room to see several pillows and cushions arranged into what looked like a makeshift shelter. There was a pencil with a piece of paper taped to it. The paper had a skull and cross bones hastily drawn on it.

"Loki?" Tony called out. "You there?"

"We're in our fort!" Loki answered. Tony could see his eyes peering out from behind one of the cushions.

"Oh yeah? Well you might want to come out because you have some visitors."

Tony saw Loki glance over, finally noticing Thor and Frigga.

Suddenly, the cushion that served as part of the roof of the fort was thrown off, and Loki popped up.

"Mother! And Thor!" he cried, excitedly, "You're back!"

Loki stepped out over the cushions and made his way towards them.

"Hey, what gives?" Another voice - Steve's - called out.

He too stood up, and upon seeing the group standing there, blushed.

"Sorry. Didn't realize who it was. It took us an hour to build this thing."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "I like the flag you've got there." He motioned towards the piece of paper with the skull and crossbones.

"Loki made it when he claimed this fort for Lokistan."

Tony burst out laughing. "Seriously?! Lokistan?! That's hilarious."

Steve shrugged, "It sounded slightly better than Lokigard."

Tony laughed again. "Wow. You guys are great."

Meanwhile, Loki was busy greeting his mother and brother. First, he latched on to Thor, giving him a huge hug.

"I missed you soooo much!" he said, before pulling back. "Arrow and Miss Jane did too."

"I missed you as well, Loki," Thor replied. "I'm glad that you were alright here."

Loki then looked at Frigga, and hugged her as well.

"Mother...I missed you too!"

Frigga hugged Loki a little tighter. "You as well. I thought of you constantly." She kissed him on the forehead.

"You'll stay with us now?" Loki asked, hopefully.

"I will stay with you now."

Loki smiled and hugged her again. "Good. I can't wait to show you everything! And you have to meet Steve, and Jane, and Tasha and maybe Bruce!"

"I look forward to it, Loki," Frigga answered.

00

Loki and Thor took Frigga around to meet everyone. It was enjoyable, but Frigga was quite tired by the end of it. It wasn't so much that it was hard for her to walk around and speak to people, rather, her block against Odin took a lot of energy to maintain.

Tony had yet to set up a place for Frigga to stay, so Loki offered her his own bed to rest on.

At first, Frigga was reluctant. She did not want to inconveniece her son. Loki insisted, though, so in the end she laid down. Loki laid next to her, and soon enough both of them were asleep.

00

This was good for Thor, if only because he needed to speak to the others about what had occurred on Asgard. They gathered in one of the tower's numerous conference rooms soon after Loki and Frigga went to sleep.

"So what's with Frigga being here? Not that she's not welcome," Tony asked.

"My mother is here to protect myself and Loki."

"From...?" Tony continued to push for answers.

"From the Allfather. He wishes to take my power once again. She is blocking him from finding us."

"Hmph. That sounds like it has an interesting back story," Bruce said.

"It is a sad story. I spoke to Heimdall immediately upon returning to Asgard," Thor began. "I asked about Loki's statements. He informed me that my brother was speaking the truth. The Other had been controlling him during the attacks on Midgard."

"That's great news!" Steve said, smiling. "That means Loki can be changed back to normal, right?"

Thor frowned. "If only that were the case. The Allfather was not pleased with this news. He fears that returning Loki's mind to its adult form would force us to go to war with the Chitauri to avenge him."

Steve and Tony's eyes got wide.

"Seriously?" Tony asked, "Odin's going to use him as a scapegoat?! That's awful!"

"I know. I confronted him, but he became angry and attempted to remove my power. My mother was able to block him and aid us in escaping."

"Wow..." Natasha spoke up for the first time. "That's good that she helped you, but your father is terrible."

"I realize this. I have turned my back on him, the throne, all of Asgard."

Steve took a deep breath. "Well... if it helps any, I think you did the right thing. You chose your innocent brother over your father. Loki is lucky to have such a good brother. But...I guess that means you'll be staying here?"

"Aye. Mother and I will stay. I will be here to help protect my brother, and I would like to work on finding a cure for him."

"It's magic that did this to him, though," Natasha replied.

"Wait, let me reply to this one," Jane said, before Thor could answer. "Magic is just science that we don't understand yet."


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: ****Guest (Second guest, not the first one): Thank you for the information about Odin's ability to use magic, I appreciate it. I don't want to put your business out here but I understand what you are going through as I've been there myself. Please feel free to PM me if you want to talk. I like talking to new people. :)**

**Ynath Esrith: Thank you for letting me know about the other characters. I actually spent some time researching Dr. Strange because of your comment and he seems amazing! Very interesting character. However, I am afraid to write him in to the story because I am mainly familiar with the movie-verse and I don't want to make anyone upset if I mess up with his character somehow. The story is already very OOC as it is.**

Ch. 17

Thor, Tony, Bruce and Jane decided to start looking for a cure for Loki the next morning. Together they hoped to come up with a few good ideas to try. Well, Bruce, Tony and Jane were trying for that. Thor was mainly there to answer any questions about Jötunn physiology that they had. Pepper, Steve, Frigga and Natasha took over watching Loki while they worked.

"What about medication? Are there any drugs that might help?" Tony asked.

"None that I've ever heard of. Of course, this situation is much different than that faced by human patients. I mean... maybe some supplements to help his brain function...Ginkgo Biloba for memory...Vitamin C might help, but I really doubt that it would reverse the damage that's been done."

"I think we have to figure out exactly how the spell that the sorceress used worked. Did it destroy part of Loki's brain? Did it rewire it somehow? We need to know what damage has been done and where," Jane suggested.

"I suppose we could send him for a PET scan. Though...I'm not entirely sure what an ice giant's brain is supposed to look like," Bruce answered. He looked at Thor, "You wouldn't have any idea, would you? Not that you have medical training or anything..."

Thor thought for a moment before answering 'no'.

"Huh. Well that doesn't do much," Bruce replied. "Now that I'm thinking about it, if it was an injury, wouldn't it have healed? Him being a god and all."

"What if we were to put him in his optimal environment? You know, put him under the best circumstances for a frost giant. A really cold room... he doesn't need to breathe but it probably helps him, so maybe we could give him pure oxygen, better food, things like that. Maybe it'll encourage his body to heal."

"That might actually work," Jane agreed. "At the very least it would help rule out brain damage."

"It's a good idea, but in order to do it someone will have to tell Loki about his true heritage. It doesn't seem like he remembers any information about that. I'll also need to figure out how to insulate some of my medical equipment." Bruce looked at the other members of the group.

"I can handle insulating everything, if you, Jane and Frigga are willing to talk to Loki," Tony offered, looking at Thor.

Thor and Jane looked at each other. Neither wanted to have to tell Loki that he wasn't really related to Thor or Frigga, but they didn't have much of a choice. Leaving him regressed was worse than telling him the truth.

"We'll do it," Jane said, answering for both herself and Thor, "If we have any luck, maybe he'll take it well."

00

While Tony went off to work on Bruce's equipment, Thor and Jane made their way back to their quarters. They found Frigga and Loki there, sitting in the living room. Frigga was reading Loki a story and he was listening very intently.

When Frigga saw her son and Jane, she looked up at them and smiled.

"We're almost finished," she said, "Just a few more pages."

Loki looked at her as if to say, "why are you talking to them and not reading to me?" and Frigga rolled her eyes.

"It is no problem. We just need to talk to you when you're done," Jane replied. "We'll be in the other room."

"Alright," Frigga answered. She glanced over at Loki, who was holding Arrow and waiting for her to start reading again.

00

When Frigga finally finished, she sent Loki off to watch cartoons. They usually kept him entertained enough not to bother the adults, at least for short periods of time. After getting him settled in she went to see Thor and Jane.

"You wanted to see me?" she asked, sitting down on their bed. It was not even noon and she was already tired. Odin had been persistent, trying his best to locate them, so she had been forced to maintain her magical shield constantly. It was extremely draining, to say the least.

"Yes. Bruce has decided that putting Loki in his optimal environment might help him," Jane explained. "That means putting him in a very cold room, making sure that he gets enough sleep and good food, giving him a higher dosage of oxygen."

"Ah. That makes sense," Frigga replied. "If he does not heal under those conditions then perhaps Gróa's spell affected him in some other way."

"Right! That's exactly what we think, too. The problem is that Loki is probably going to wonder why we're suddenly putting him in a freezing cold room."

"There is also the matter of his natural form showing through," Thor added.

Frigga frowned. "Yes, there is _that_ problem."

"How is it that he looks normal now? Shouldn't he be... you know... blue all the time?" Jane asked.

"My father cast a very strong glamor spell on Loki when he was a small child. It is only broken if he is on Jötunnheim, near the Casket of Ancient Winters, or if he is in something similar to his natural environment."

"Since Asgard has a climate similar to Midgard's, the spell holds up," Frigga added. She then sighed. "This is going to be difficult."

"Aye," Thor agreed. "Perhaps if we are all there for him it will help."

00

Thor, Frigga and Jane emerged from their meeting just as Spongebob was ending. Loki came up to them as soon as he saw them.

"Is everything okay?" he asked, standing close to Frigga. She wrapped an arm around him and kissed him on the head.

"Everything is fine, Loki. We just need to talk to you about something."

Loki's eyes got wide.

"Am I in trouble?" he seemed very nervous.

Frigga laughed. "No, love, you are not in any trouble."

"Okay," Loki replied, looking as if he didn't fully believe her.

"Why don't we go sit down and talk."

Loki nodded and followed the three adults back to the living room. He sat down in between Frigga and Jane and put Arrow on his lap. It was clear that he was still nervous.

There was a short silence, as no one was really sure where to begin. Finally Frigga decided to speak up.

"Loki... There are differences between you and your brother. You have noticed them, have you not?"

Loki nodded 'yes'. "He has blonde hair and I have dark hair."

"That is one difference, yes. But there is one other thing that separates you and Thor, and you and I."

Loki held on to Arrow a little tighter, somewhat afraid of what his mother was going to say.

"What we are trying to tell you is that you are not Aesir, as Thor and I are. You come from a different place. It doesn't matter to us, because we love you just the same, but we must tell you the truth."

Loki swallowed nervously.

"Where am I from, then?"

"You are from Jötunnheim. Father took you from there when you were an infant," Thor answered.

Loki's jaw dropped.

"I'm...I'm a frost giant?!" He looked horrified. "But-but- everyone hates them!"

Before anyone could reply, Loki started to hyperventilate. It alarmed everyone, especially Frigga, as she had never seen her son upset in such a way before.

Thor attempted to come to the rescue. He kneeled down in front of Loki and put his hands on Loki's shoulders.

"Brother, please try to calm down. We love you just the same and we always will."

Loki shook his head 'no' and pushed Thor off. He stood up and began walking towards the door. Thor and Frigga quickly got up as well, watching as Loki walked out of the room, using his magic to slam the door so hard that it nearly broke off of its hinges.

00

Thor spent the next hour moving about the tower, trying to find his brother. He checked the basement and the roof, Tony's lab an Bruce's medical room. He even checked the conference rooms, yet Loki was nowhere to be found. He was beginning to worry that perhaps Loki had gone outside. They were right in the middle of New York City, and it would be somewhat easy for him to hide, provided that no one recognized him. Of course, Thor knew that the chances of that were slim. He was walking down the hallway, intending to alert Frigga and Jane to the possibility that Loki had left when Steve's door opened.

"Hey," Steve said, closing the door behind him quietly. "Are you looking for Loki?"

"Yes!", Thor answered, "I cannot find him anywhere and I fear that he may have left the premises."

"Oh. No, he's in my room. He's been there for almost an hour. Sorry, I didn't think that it was a big deal."

Thor was clearly relieved.

"I was very worried about him," Thor replied. "Is he well?"

Steve frowned. "Well, he came in and shattered two of my windows."

Thor's eyes got wide. "Not again-"

"But then he started crying and I talked to him. He's sleeping now."

"Oh. I suppose that he told you what happened?"

"Yeah, he did. He mostly seemed afraid that no one would want to be near him. I told him that he was wrong and that you and Frigga and Jane care about him very much and he seemed to calm down."

"I would like to see him," Thor said, "If that is alright with you."

"Yeah. Just, you know, try to keep him calm."

Thor nodded, "I shall."

Steve led Thor back into his quarters and towards his bedroom. There, Loki was curled up on Steve's bed, clutching Arrow as well as a pillow to his chest.

"I'll leave you alone," Steve whispered.

"Thank you."

Thor sat down on the edge of the bed, and gently ran his hand over Loki's hair. He felt terrible for his brother. Loki had dealt with so much tough news lately. It was too much for someone with the mental capacity of a child.

Loki woke up after Thor touched his hair again.

"Thor?" he asked, sitting up. He pulled his knees up to his chest.

"Yes," Thor answered.

"Why're you here?" Loki looked very sad again.

"Because I was worried about you and I wanted to make sure that you were alright."

"Uncle Steve says that you don't care that I'm different."

"He is right. You are my brother. It does not matter if we do not share the same blood. I love you and I always will."

Loki nodded, and crawled closer to Thor, instantly calming when Thor wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"I broke Uncle Steve's windows," Loki stated, "I didn't mean to."

"Mr. Stark will have them replaced, I am sure."

"Okay."

The two sat there for a while longer, not saying anything.


	18. Chapter 18

Ch.18

It took Tony less than an hour to figure out how to insulate Bruce's equipment. There wasn't that much of it anyway, just a few tanks filled with liquid oxygen and a portable pulse oximeter.

With those ready, Tony ordered JARVIS to bring the temperature down to -5C in the medical room.

Bruce and Thor brought Loki in shortly after the temperature dipped to the correct level.

While everyone else had to wear heavy winter coats for so much as a modicum of comfort, Loki seemed to love the cold environment.

"Okay, I'm going to put this cannula in your nose," Bruce explained, as Loki made himself comfortable on the hospital bed that was provided. "You're going to be breathing in a higher level of oxygen. You are welcome to have visitors whenever you like during the day but you will go to bed no later than nine pm. One of us will bring you meals each morning, afternoon and evening, and if you want anything else to eat you can just let us know. Do you understand?"

Loki nodded, and allowed Bruce to put the oxygen line in place.

Bruce then showed him the pulse ox. "I'm not going to make you wear this constantly, I'm just trying to figure out some baseline standards for you."

"Okay," Loki replied, allowing Bruce to place the device on his finger. It made a beeping sound, then numbers began to pop up on top of it. Bruce looked it over.

"Hmm. That's interesting. Your heart rate is much lower than that of an average human."

Loki stared at him, not understanding what that meant.

"Just an interesting observation," Bruce added, scribbling something down in his notebook.

Bruce had just finished taking Loki's blood pressure (again, more for his own information than anything) when Loki spoke up.

"Am I allowed to do anything besides lie here in bed?"

"You can walk around the room or play games if you like. I believe that Tony brought you some Uno cards. You can draw with Steve if you like, too."

"Okay."

Loki laid back, taking a deep breath. He smiled, seemingly relaxed.

"Do you like it here?" Thor asked.

"It's very comfortable," Loki answered.

"Good. Let us hope for the best. Maybe this will work."

00

Natasha came in later in the evening. She was wearing a thick winter coat and intended to bring Loki his dinner and perhaps play a game with him.

She opened the door and felt a cold blast of air hit her, but it wasn't that which stunned her. Sitting on the floor near Thor was Loki, and his skin was entirely blue!

Natasha had heard about this. She knew of Loki's true heritage, but still, seeing him having turned a completely different color was shocking.

She gasped loud enough to catch Loki's attention. He turned to face her, and seeing his red eyes, she instinctively took a step back.

After what felt like the most awkward few seconds of her life, she finally regained control of herself.

"Hi, Loki," she said, forcing a smile. "I came to bring you some food."

"I'm not hungry," Loki whispered, throwing down the cards that he was holding. Clearly Natasha's reaction had hurt him. A second later, his skin tone began changing, as did his eyes. It wasn't long before he looked as he typically did.

"Wow," Natasha said, "I didn't know you could control that."

"Nor did I," Thor added, looking at Loki incredulously.

Loki shrugged. "It's not hard."

Natasha looked at Thor, and could tell that he was thinking the same thing that she was. If Loki was able to control his image, then he was regaining control of his magic. He was healing! Perhaps this experiment was working!

Loki stood up and stomped past Natasha, then took a seat on the bed. He picked up Arrow and held it close to his chest. He looked very upset. Natasha knew what she had to do.

Sighing, she put down the tray of food that she was holding. It was probably mostly cold by now, anyway. She sat down on the edge of the bed.

"I'm sorry for how I reacted," she said, sincerely, "I did not mean to hurt you."

Loki glanced up at her, then looked back down at Arrow.

"It's alright," he replied. Suddenly his expression brightened. "Do you want to play a game? We can play with the Uno cards!"

Natasha smirked. It was so Loki-ish to use Natasha's guilt to get what he wanted.

"Yes, alright. You shuffle the cards, best two out of three games wins."

00

The other Avengers were very hopeful that Loki would continue to heal, but as the days went by, it seemed like nothing was happening. Yes, he could control his appearance with his magic, but that was about it. He didn't seem to regain any old skills or make any progress as far as his mental age went.

After an entire week with no progress, Bruce felt that it was time to let Loki go. He was getting bored being stuck in the medical center, anyway. It didn't seem fair to keep him there for no reason.

Bruce came in and explained to Loki that he was going to go back to living with Thor and Jane. He was in the middle of picking up Loki's games and toys when he heard it - a loud thump, followed by the sounding of an alarm.

"The tower has been infiltrated by several SHIELD agents," JARVIS explained. "Mr. Stark's instructions state that you must remain in the medical center."

"Shit," Bruce replied, "Lock the door, will you JARVIS?"

"Already done, sir," the AI answered.

Bruce turned to Loki, who was sitting on the bed looking terrified.

"Are we going to get hurt?" Loki asked, nervously.

Bruce forced himself to look calm. "No, no. We'll be fine. We're safe in here. The doors have shatter proof glass."

Loki looked as if he didn't believe him, but he didn't say anything, either.

A second later, they saw three agents run past the room. They were being chased down the hall by none other than the Captain.

"They're gonna get us," Loki said, "We should hide."

"That would be a good idea." Bruce reached out to take Loki's hand. He led Loki to the supply closet in the back of the room.

"Make sure you stay quiet," Bruce whispered.

Loki nodded in agreement.

Soon enough, they heard the sound of the doors being blasted open, followed by the sound of footsteps. Another team of agents must have made their way inside.

Loki gasped when he heard the loud noise, so Bruce quickly covered Loki's mouth with his hand.

"Stay quiet!" he whispered again.

Loki looked up at him, fear written all over his face, but he didn't make another sound.

Their efforts were in vain, though. Only a few seconds later one of the agents shot through the closet door, shattering the lock. The man threw it open.

"They're in here!" He called out. Five other men immediately ran over.

Seeing how the men were looking at Loki - like they wanted nothing more than to beat him to death - made Bruce angry. He could feel the other guy taking over, the rage pulsing through his veins. Hopefully when the Hulk came around, he wouldn't hurt Loki. Just a few more seconds...

But he was too late. Too late to save, Loki, at least. Just before he full on turned, one of the agents shot Loki with something that looked like a taser, but must have possessed a much, much more powerful shock. Loki was on the ground instantly, totally unconscious.

That was enough to push Bruce over the edge. It didn't take the Hulk long to make the agents regret their actions.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Thank you for all the reviews! :)**

Ch. 19

It took the Avengers less than an hour to finish the battle against SHIELD. Most of the agents were injured or had fled while a smaller number had been killed. Tony was sure that he was going to be facing some serious legal problems soon.

Besides that, the tower was in shambles. Fighting had taken place on most of the upper floors, completely destroying some areas. Steve's quarters were basically gone and the medical room was half trashed.

With both the tower and Loki to take care of, Tony instructed Bruce to find a place for his patient and had called the others into a group meeting.

00

The other Avengers, Frigga, Jane and Pepper all stumbled into the one conference room that was still in tact. There had been no major injuries, but everyone was tired. Frigga and Jane had yet to learn of what had happened to Loki, so they were surprised when he didn't show up.

Frigga was the first to sense that something was wrong.

"Where is my son?" She asked Tony, looking very nervous.

"Well, you see, Loki was injured during the fight. Bruce is with him right now, but that's why I called this meeting - to explain everything to everyone."

Frigga shook her head. "I only care about what has happened to Loki. Where is he? Thor, Jane, we must go find him!"

Tony put his hands up, "Calm down, alright? Loki is a god, so he'll be -"

JARVIS' voice interrupted Tony's speech.

"Excuse me, sir, but it appears as though Mr. Odinson has had a seizure in the medical center."

"...Shit," Tony sighed.

Before he could say anything else, everyone began to file out, wanting to help Loki in any way they could.

00

The hallway near the medical center there seemed much more damaged than all of the others. Here, there were holes in the walls, marks on the paint, the carpet was torn and there were blood stains splattered about.

"What happened here?" Thor asked, looking the place over.

"Bruce got a bit angry when they tazed Loki sooo..." Tony trailed off.

Soon enough they came upon the entrance to the medical center. Both doors had been thrown off of their hinges and broken glass covered the floor. So much for 'shatter proof', Tony thought to himself.

Thor and Frigga peered in . They could see Loki, lying on a bed. Bruce was standing nearby, looking over his patient. He was dressed only on torn up pants and a wrinkled t-shirt, having not had time to change into anything better when he had woken up.

"I must be near him," Frigga said, walking in.

The rest of the group followed her in, Thor and Jane at the front of the crowd.

Bruce looked up when he saw the group.

"Guys, you can come in but don't touch anything. I only just got him stable."

Frigga came to Loki's side and looked down at her son. He had a canula under his nose. An IV line, hastily held up by a half broken IV stand was connected to his wrist and there were bruises on his face and arms. He appeared to be sleeping.

"What happened to him?" Thor asked, speaking softly. He watched as Frigga reached out to touch Loki's arm.

"They electrocuted him. While we were fighting he hid in the closet, and the agents found us...The guy shot him with some type of ultra-powered tazer. It hit him with a much higher voltage than a regular stun gun and it lasted for about twice as long."

"But... My son is a god! He should be able to heal..." Frigga replied, taking hold of Loki's hand.

"I'm not so sure he can. Technically, his brain should've healed after the sorceress damaged it. Personally...I think is that whatever magic his body uses for healing is caught up with whatever magic your sorceress threw at him. Like he is perpetually fighting her spell. He can't do that and heal at the same time."

Thor nodded, "Is he asleep?"

"Well, that's another story. He had a seizure, as I'm sure you heard. It was very violent... I injected him with an anti-convulstant. Thankfully, it worked fast. Then he passed out again."

Frigga began to cry. "My poor son... I have failed him." She kissed Loki's hand.

Thor shook his head. "No, mother, it is I that have failed him. I was not here to protect him.

"They really caught us off guard," Tony cut in. " I mean, we expected them to come back, but those bastards even used some of _my_ old technology against us. Even if you were there, Thor, you probably could not have done much. It only took them a second once they found him."

"Still... he must have been so afraid."

Tony didn't know what to say to that. He glanced up at Bruce, who lowered his gaze. He really did not want to have to tell Thor and Frigga how terrified Loki had been when they were hiding.

Suddenly, Loki began to move again.

At first, he moved his head, then the rest of his body began to shake violently. His eyelids opened but only white could be seen, as his eyes had rolled back.

"Oh my god, do something!" Steve yelled.

Thor and Frigga were standing there, seemingly in shock.

Thankfully Bruce had remained calm, as had Tony.

"Stark, hold him down, I'm gonna inject him again."

Tony nodded and used all of his strength to restrain Loki. It was a nearly impossible feat.

"Okay, ready?" Bruce asked, as he finished preparing the shot.

"Do it soon, it's getting harder to hold him down!"

Bruce took a deep breath and jabbed the syringe into Loki's thigh. He continued to move for another few seconds before stopping completely.

"There we go..." Bruce said, patting Loki on the leg. He seemed to be unconscious again. He looked at Loki's face and noticed blood around his lips. Sighing, he put on a pair of gloves and opened Loki's mouth. Loki had bitten his tongue. There was a small amount of vomit in his mouth as well.

"Alright, I'm going to clean him up, but if one of you could stay in case he siezes again, it would be helpful."

"I will stay," Thor said, finally coming out of his state of shock. "I will help you clean him." He looked at his mother, who was crying silently now, and took her hand.

"You should rest," he told her, wiping a tear off of her cheek.

Frigga nodded. "Take care of your brother, Thor."

"I will," he assured her, "I promise."

00

Though Bruce was trying different anti-convulsant medications, the seizures did not stop. If anything, they happened more frequently. Often he would have one each hour. Each time, Thor would hold his brother still enough to allow Bruce to inject him, and each time, he would help Bruce clean Loki up afterward. He quickly found out that biting ones tongue and throwing up were some of the less disgusting attributes of seizures, though he made no comment when Loki soiled the bed. Rather, he quietly replaced the sheets and gently helped wash his brother off.

By ten that evening, Bruce was really at the end of his rope. All in all Loki had had twelve seizures since noon, and his physical condition got worse and worse with each one. He _had_ found a medication that seemed to work for a slightly longer period of time, but that was about it.

For the next hour, he pondered the cause of Loki's condition. It was not unheard of for there to be lasting neurological damage after an electrocution. He had to figure out something. Since medications were not working, he considered other options. Namely surgery. But Bruce wasn't a surgeon, and cutting open Loki's brain was really not something that he wanted to attempt, so they would have to find someone...

His thought was cut off when he heard Loki move again. Another seizure was about to happen.

"Dammit!," he said, not caring if Thor heard him.

As per usual, Thor held his brother in place and Bruce administered a shot. But then, unlike the other times, Loki didn't pass out. The seizure stopped, and Loki's eyes opened.


	20. Chapter 20

Ch. 20

At first, everything looked blurry. Loki could make out two male forms, but he couldn't tell much about them besides their hair color.

Slowly, very slowly, the image began to sharpen. Now he could recognize Thor, and Bruce.

Then his hearing picked up. They were both calling his name, asking if he could hear them and if he was okay.

And then, in an instant, everything came back to him. Everything. The Other - the events on Midgard - Groa - New Mexico with Jane - Thor taking care of him - Coloring pictures with Steve. Loki cringed at that last memory.

It was so much to take in that it made his head hurt. He was tired. He didn't want to answer them. Not now, at least. No, he wanted to rest. He needed time to think about what he was going to do, anyway. So he closed his eyes, hoping that they would think he was asleep.

00

What to do now.

Well, there were really two options, as far as Loki could see. One, he could tell Thor and Bruce and the others that his memory had returned, that he was his true, adult self again, or two, he could pretend that nothing had changed, that he was still mentally a six year old.

Loki's biggest fear was what the group would do if they found out that his memory had returned. Would they send him back to Asgard, to face yet another punishment? He recalled telling Thor about The Other, and he knew that Thor believed him, but still - even if the others did believe him as well, why would they want to continue to be burdened by him? They were obligated to care for him when they saw him as a child. If he were to regain his memories, they would surely find a way to get him out of their hair.

Stepping foot on Asgard again, after all that had happened, would likely be worse than a death sentence. Odin would have him imprisoned and tortured for years, and even if he were to be released, Asgard's citizens would find a way to get to him.

It seemed like there was only one safe way to go. He'd have to suck it up and play pretend, at least for the time being. Hopefully no one would catch on.

00

When Loki opened his eyes again, Thor and Bruce were still there, staring at him, quietly discussing what had happened. When they saw him begin to wake again, they instantly came to his side.

"Loki?" Thor asked, cupping Loki's cheek with his hand. "Brother? Are you awake?"

Thor looked so worried and desperate. Loki could scarcely remember another time when he had seen his brother in such a way. Well, maybe it would work to his advantage. If Thor was emotional he might be less likely to notice if anything was amiss.

"Thor?" Loki asked, trying his best to look scared and needy.

Thor breathed a huge sigh of relief and pulled Loki into a hug.

"Oh, brother, I was so worried...but you've survived!" He held his brother closely, and Loki could feel Thor's tears wetting his shirt.

"Don't cry," he said, sweetly, "Please."

Thor nodded, pulled back and sniffled.

"I apologize, Loki, I was just so frightened..." He took Loki's hands in his own, "I promise to never let anyone hurt you again. I should not have ever let you out of my sight!"

Bruce cleared his throat.

"Do you mind if I take a look at him?" He asked.

"Oh, of course," Thor replied, quickly moving out of the way.

Bruce thanked him, then came closer to Loki, taking the same spot that Thor had before.

"Hey, Loki," he said, forcing himself to sound calmer than he really was. "You had us scared there for a while! I need to ask you a few questions, okay?"

"Okay," Loki agreed.

"How do you feel right now? Does anything hurt, or do you feel sick at all?"

"My body hurts. I'm tired," Loki admitted. That much was true. He was completely exhausted.

"Okay," Bruce scribbled something down on a notepad, "Do you know how old you are?"

"Six," Loki lied. He held up six fingers to show Bruce.

"Ha, good job," Bruce said, though it was clear that he was disheartened by Loki's answer. "I have one last question for now."

"Okay."

"Do you remember what happened today?"

Now Loki really had to act. He made himself look as upset as possible, biting his lower lip and making his eyes wide.

"We were in the closet, and the bad men came..."

Bruce's expression dropped, he immediately looked sad.

"I'm so sorry," he mumbled, taking a step back. A second later, Thor came over, holding Arrow.

"Here, brother. I thought you might like this."

Loki took the stuffed dragon and held it close. The looks of absolute devastation and pure relief on both Thor and Bruce's faces almost made him feel bad about what he was doing.

00

After two hours with no more seizures, Bruce left and Loki was allowed to relax for the rest of the evening. Thor stayed by his side constantly, and Frigga came to visit. Despite being extremely tired herself, she catered to Loki's every need, even going so far as to attempt to use a Midgardian kitchen to make Loki a warm meal.

Three broken pans and a minor kitchen fire later, Frigga gave up and Tony called for takeout. The small family ate pizza together in the corner of the medical center, both Frigga and Thor grateful to have the time with Loki.

"Loki, dear, would you like some ice cream?" Frigga asked, when Loki had cleared his plate. She remembered Thor saying that Loki enjoyed ice cream, at some point, and if it was something that he liked she was more than willing to go find a place to get some.

"No thank you," Loki replied, before yawning.

Frigga pouted sympathetically. "My poor love, you must be so tired. It is early in the morning. Why don't you sleep?"

Loki nodded, and cuddled Arrow close to his chest again.

Thor stood up and pulled the blankets over his brother, planting a kiss on Loki's forehead before sitting back down.

Loki closed his eyes, but stayed awake. He had yet to hear Frigga or Thor get up to leave.

"Are you staying?" he asked, after several moments.

"Of course," Frigga answered. "We'll be here all night, right by your side."

Loki nodded again, and did his best to push down the awful feeling of guilt that kept creeping up on him.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Sorry for the wait! There will probably be one or two more chapters after this.**

Ch. 21

For the next few days Loki managed to maintain his cover. Some things were more difficult than others. For instance, Loki remembered that he often had nightmares and that Thor would sleep in the same bed with him. As an adult, the thought of having to sleep near his older brother was weird, but if he suddenly stopped needing Thor than it would draw suspicion. So, Loki called for Thor every other night and Thor suspected nothing.

At breakfast each morning, he would eat Lucky Charms or whatever other sugary cereal that Jane had procured, even though he would've preferred something simpler.

But, some things he still enjoyed. Drawing with Steve was one of them.

Steve was always kind to him, without fail. He paid attention to what Loki was saying and what he was drawing, and he had a great deal of patience when it came to teaching Loki how to draw. Loki's ability to draw as an adult was not much better than it had been as a kid, so Loki figured that he could use as many lessons as possible.

Frigga, of course, was still going out of her way to take care of Loki. At first Loki thought it was sweet but she was getting to be a bit overbearing.

At the end of every day it was all the same, though. Loki would go to bed, stare up at the ceiling, and feel incredibly guilty for what he was doing.

00

About a week after he regained his memory, Loki awoke to the sound of his mother screaming. Instantly, he got out of bed and ran to her room, only to find Thor and Jane already there.

Frigga was on her knees on the ground, fists clenched and in obvious pain. She kept repeating the same thing over and over.

'Stop… no! No… Please, my Lord… Stop!"

"What is happening?" Loki asked, very concerned. He moved to his mother's side and began trying to help her get into a more comfortable position.

Thor shook his head.

"I believe that the Allfather has found her," he said, seriously.

Loki nodded, and wrapped his arms around his mother.

"Mother, it's alright… You'll be alright," he cooed, trying to calm her down. "You must tell us what is hurting you."

Jane and Thor looked at Loki. He did not sound like his usual self. Not right then, at least. Both wondered if perhaps his mind was returning. They would have to deal with that later, though. For now, Frigga needed help.

"I'm going to get Bruce," Jane told them, heading out the door.

And then, just after she left, Frigga screamed loudly one last time before slumping forward unconscious.

00

Loki managed to catch his mother before her head hit the floor. He held her in his arms, feeling completely terrified. He had never seen his mother hurt like this before. The fact that she wasn't responding to his calls frightened him even more.

Not knowing what else to do, he picked Frigga up and placed her on her bed. It was then that he felt it.

The floor and walls were shaking. Something was happening.

"Brace yourself," Thor said.

Loki grabbed on to the headboard, trying to keep from falling as the building began to shake even more violently.

"What's happening?" Loki looked at his brother, who was trying to keep steady himself.

"He's coming. The Allfather is coming. Here," he moved towards the bed as quickly as he could, being careful not to fall, and held out his hand. "I will find a place to keep you safe."

"No, Thor, I need to stay with mother!" Loki protested.

Thor would hear none of this. As soon as he could he wrapped his arms around Loki's waist and picked him up, then slung him over his shoulder, carrying his little brother as if he were a sack of flour. He managed to maintain his balance while walking out of the room.

Loki kicked and screamed the whole way, begging Thor to let him return to Frigga's side. Thor didn't reply. In his mind, his little brother was merely frightened and worried about his mother. It would be best to find a safe place for Loki while Bruce dealt with Frigga. Hopefully, the scientist had not transformed. Thor tried to remain positive by pushing that thought from his mind.

Finally, Thor reached the closest potentially safe place that he could think of: Steve's quarters. The Allfather would be unlikely to check there first.

"Let me go!", Loki yelled, kicking Thor once again in the chest. He was very, very tempted to use his magic but then his cover would definitely be blown.

Thor set him down near a closet in Steve's living room. The Captain was awake as well and had already changed into his uniform.

"Put him inside and lock it," Steve called out, making his way over. Some of the windows began shattering. Odin was getting closer.

Thor grabbed Loki's hand, opened the closet door, and threw Loki inside. He quickly turned the lock.

"Stay there," he called out, "You'll be safe. Do not make any sounds!"

"We'll come back for you!" Steve added.

From inside the closet, Loki could hear Steve and Thor leave the room.

He sighed to himself, hoping that this would all be over soon.

00

It was not long before Odin arrived along with a large army of Asgard's finest warriors. The Warriors 3 and Sif were there as well, leading the bunch.

The rest of the Avengers made it to the roof just in time to see the portal that they had taken close.

"What the hell was that all about?" Tony asked, glaring at Odin. "Do you have any idea how much it will cost to repair that tower?"

Odin glared right back at him.

"I care not for your tower. You know why we are here. Where is he?"

Thor stepped forward.

"We will not let you have him," he said. He then turned to his ex-friends. "And you – it hurts me to see you taking sides against me. Have you no loyalty to your friends?"

"You have disobeyed the Allfather and kidnapped your mother, all to help the one who nearly destroyed both Jotunheim and Midgard," Hogunn answered. "Did you really expect us to aid you?"

"My brother is innocent!" Thor pointed at Odin, "He does not want you to know it, but it is true! Loki did not plan the attack on Midgard himself. The Chitauri forced him to do it! I am trying to protect him and you should be too!"

The Warriors 3 looked confused, as did Sif.

"Is this true?" She asked, turning to Odin.

"It is not true," Odin replied, scowling at his son, "Thor has been fooled. Loki has probably tricked him again somehow. He must have tricked all of them! Now, bring him to us and no one will be injured."

"Not happening," Tony replied, "You'll have to get through us to get to him."

Odin sighed.

"Have it your way, then." He raised his hand and energy came forth, throwing Tony against a wall.

"Holy crap," Natasha muttered, eyes wide.

Odin turned to her.

"Would you like to go next?"

"You are not going to harm her," Thor shouted, walking up to his father. He came within an inch of him and looked him straight in the eyes. "I will not let you."

Odin raised his hand again, about to give a repeat performance of what he had done to Tony. Thor was fast, though. He threw Odin to the ground.

Everyone looked stunned. Had Thor really placed his hands upon the Allfather?

"Well don't just stand there, go in and find Loki!", Odin yelled.

All of the warriors began running head on towards the Avengers, who began to fight back. Only Thor remained in place.

Odin tried to push himself up, but Thor stepped on his chest.

"I will not allow you to hurt my friends or my brother."

Odin shook his head.

"You are going to regret this, my son."

With that, a bright light began to form near Odin's chest. It looked similar to the glow of Tony's arc reactor, but it was yellow. Thor eyed it, wondering what was going on. And then, suddenly, a beam of magic poured out. It was strong enough to knock Thor back, causing him to fall to the ground. Odin was on him before he could even attempt to get up.

"I am sorry," he said, as he picked Thor up.

He carried Thor to the side of the building, closed his eyes, and let go.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: Sorry about the lack of updates. We've been doing construction at my house and I am stuck upstairs with my husband, not a comfortable place for me to write fanfic. I'll be in the Amazon for the next week and a half so will post another update when I return home. Also, I did take some liberties here again. I figure that Loki's power would be pretty strong if he wanted it to be, and that he probably had at least some knowledge of healing magic since Asgardians are so into fighting and all.**

Ch. 22

The Avengers and Asgardians began to battle on the roof of Stark Tower. It surprised the Avengers how strong the warriors were. Tony was taking on four men while Natasha was going hand to hand with two of the Warriors 3. Bruce has transformed and was battling with Odin, who actually proved to be a decent challenge.

As his comrades fought, Steve slipped away, intending to get inside. He had to get Frigga and Loki to a safer area. It was only a matter of time before the warriors made their way in. They greatly outnumbered the Avengers and he had seen some of them near the doors. Tony had managed to get them away, but –

Steve scratched that thought. As he ran down the stairs he heard the door above him burst open, followed by footsteps. They had gotten in.

The Avenger quickened his pace, making his way down several sets of stairs until he was on the floor where Loki and Frigga were.

00

First, he went to Thor's quarters where Frigga had been staying. The goddess was still in her bedroom and still lying on the ground, but she seemed somewhat coherent.

"Frigga?" Steve asked, coming to her side.

"Yes," Frigga whispered, slowly turning her face to look at him.

"I need to get you and your son out of here. Can you walk? I can help you." Steve held out his hand.

Frigga nodded, and allowed the Captain to help her up.

Steve felt relief wash over her as he got Frigga to her feet and helped her take a few steps. She was weak but mostly steady and seemed capable of supporting herself. It made Steve's task somewhat easier.

"Where are my sons?" Frigga questioned, as he led her out of the room.

"Loki is hidden and Thor…" he trailed off, wondering what was best to tell her. The stress of Thor being injured, or worse, might be too much for her. It would probably be better to lie, at least for now.

"The last time I saw him was on the roof, defending the tower."

Frigga nodded but said nothing.

Soon enough, they came to Steve's quarters, where Loki was. Steve walked inside, Frigga following behind him. He knocked on the closet door.

"Loki! It's Steve. I'm with your mother. I'm going to get you both out of here." The soldier unlocked the door.

Loki was inside the closet, leaning back against the wall. He smiled when he saw Frigga and pushed himself up.

"Mother, you're alright!" he said, as he walked closer to her. He then pulled her into a hug.

"Yes, my love, I am fine. The Allfather's magic stopped hurting me. He must be distracted by your friends."

"I was worried," Loki replied, keeping his arms around Frigga.

"Uh, guys, I hate to break up this mother-son moment but the warriors are inside and it's only a matter of time before they find us sooo…"

Loki nodded and let go of Frigga.

"Let us go, then," he replied.

The three turned and headed out into the hallway, where they were promptly confronted by several Asgardians.

"Get back!", Steve yelled, as he began to fight.

The super soldier was strong, but he was very outnumbered. Whenever he would finish off one warrior, another would appear. He seemed to be holding his own, at least for a minute or so, but it wasn't long before one of the stronger warriors had shoved him to the ground. The others moved in quickly, all trying to take part in the death of their enemy.

And Steve may well have been finished, too, if it wasn't for Loki. Having seen his friend fall, the god rushed into the hallway. Green sparks began to fly from his fingertips and a second later, the warriors were gone, thrown down the hallway and through the walls. The blast was powerful enough to render them unconscious, nevermind the other injuries it caused.

Now free, Steve stood up.

"Loki… you used your magic to help me," he said, stunned.

"I had to. They were going to…" he trailed off, then sighed. "I had no choice."

"But that means that you're back," Steve stated. He glanced over at Frigga, who looked just as shocked as he did.

Loki frowned. "I'm sorry, Captain."

"How long have you been back for?" Steve felt a strange mixture of relief and anger.

"A few days," Loki answered, truthfully. "I am sorry."

Steve shook his head.

"Whatever. We'll discuss this later. For now we have to go. I'm sure some more of them will be coming soon."

00

The three made their way down to the bottom level of the tower and outside into the street. It was then that Steve realized that he had made a huge error.

The shock of what had just happened caused him to forget that Thor was out there, lying in the middle of the street.

Much as he wanted to turn them back, Steve realized that he had no choice but to continue. He had to at least get Frigga away from Stark Tower.

There was a large group of people gathered around Thor. There were ambulances and police and even a firetruck at the scene. One of the cops approached Steve when they saw him.

"Hey Captain," the man greeted him. "Looks like your friend there had a bad fall."

Steve sighed as Loki and Frigga became more interested.

"Is he alive?"

The cop shrugged, "We just got to the scene. Gods can't die though, right?"

Hearing that, Loki and Frigga understood who was there. Both of them rushed over. Seeing Loki, the group of policeman moved in, trying to corner him. Loki easily pushed past them, though. When he came upon his brother, he created a force field around himself, Thor and Frigga. The policeman frantically tried to touch him, even going so far as to shoot at the shield, but it didn't work.

"Oh, Thor," Loki sighed, falling to his knees. His brother had helped him so much in the past several weeks, and he no longer felt any anger towards him. If anything, it hurt him to see Thor lying there, halfway between life and death.

Frigga, too, kneeled down next to her son.

"He is alive," she said, as she touched Thor's chest. "I can feel his heart beating."

Loki nodded, and pushed her hand away. The magic again flowed from his fingertips, this time entering Thor's body. Loki closed his eyes as he concentrated on finding Thor's wounds and using his power to heal them. It wasn't long before Thor's eyes fluttered open.

"Loki?" He whispered, surprised to see his brother there.

"Yes, Thor. It is I."

"You're back!" Thor said, excitedly. He tried to sit up but doing so hurt him. Frigga quickly wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"Your injuries are healed but you will still be sore." Loki looked over at Steve, who had just finished pushing his way through the crowd of officers. "Perhaps you could take mother and hide, yes? I believe I have a battle to join."


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: Sorry this took forever. Thank you again for all of the reviews and thank you to everyone who read it, whether you like it or not.**

Ch. 23

Steve and Loki raced back inside the tower to find much of it damaged. Ceilings were collapsed, walls had holes broken through them, and the bodies of several warriors littered the grounds. Hulk had clearly done a number on the aliens.

The two made their way upstairs towards the roof. As they ran they could hear Hulk growling and shouting. It was by some miracle that they managed to miss out on being hit with some of the collateral damage that the rage monster was continuing to cause.

Loki and Steve were both prepared to fight as soon as they arrived. Steve pushed open the doors, shield raised, only to find a shocking sight: Tony and Natasha had cornered the last remaining warriors. Still, it appeared as though they arrived just in time. Tony had been holding off Odin by threatening him with one of his repulsor beams while using his other arm to keep some the warriors in place. Odin was still approaching, though. Tony was about to fire when he heard Loki's voice.

"Stop!" Loki called out.

Everyone, including the captive warriors, looked at him. Loki marched past them and over to Odin while Steve joined the others as a guard.

"Loki, get out of the way!" Tony said, annoyed by the god's presence. All they needed was to have to protect him as well as defeat Odin.

"I am back, Stark, and I intend to finish this here and now."

Odin stepped back as Loki approached him. The younger god walked confidently, looking fearless.

Finally, Odin backed up against a wall. The same wall that he had thrown Thor over previously. He raised his hands.

"Loki, come peacefully or I will destroy you," he warned.

Loki grinned and shook his head.

"I don't think so." Suddenly his smile disappeared, and Loki was pushing Odin back, forcing him to bed halfway over the edge of the wall. Loki put all of his weight on Odin and took hold of his throat.

Odin once again attempted to raise his hands, but Loki stopped him. With a mere nod of his head, he cast a spell on Odin, making his hands feel as though they were being weighed down by thousand pound stones.

Loki smiled again.

"I was never a strong warrior physically, so I found other ways to fight. That's the great thing about magic, really. If you master it you can do anything. Even take down the Allfather."

Odin began to choke and tried in vain to move his hands.

Loki shook his head.

"You have done some terrible things. You pushed me to the side for years and you punished me to a fate more awful than death. You attempted to steal my life! My memories! You hurt my brother and you hurt my mother and for all of that, you will pay."

Loki's eyes began to glow and a small green orb formed near Loki's hand. He reached for it, keeping his other hand on Odin's neck. Grinning, he took hold of it magical ball. He could feel its power pulsate in his hand. Something like this was rare - a magic only capable of being conjured if a sorcerer, or someone the sorcerer loved, was in extreme distress.. Loki himself had never been able to conjure it previously, but the thought of Odin hurting Thor and Frigga allowed it.

Or course, Odin recognized what this was. His eyes grew wide.

"Loki - please do not do this!" he gasped out.

Loki didn't reply. Instead he took the green ball and slowly pushed it to Odin's chest. The magic krept into his body and within seconds, blood began to pour from Odin's mouth and nose. The older god looked at his adopted son one last time before closing his eyes.

Loki took a step back and Odin's body fell to the ground.

"You've killed him!" One of the warriors shouted. Soon enough the rest of them were riled up, fighting even harder against the Avengers.

Loki sighed. Of course the warriors would be upset, seeing as how he just killed their king. He prepared to join the battle against them, going so far as to create clones of himself to distract them.

And then, the door to the roof opened and a male voice shouted "Stop!".

Everyone recognized that voice. Loki, the warriors and the Avengers all turned to see Thor, standing there, Frigga in his arms.

"Thor! Loki has killed your father!", one of the warriors stated.

Thor took a deep breath and looked at Loki.

"Is this true, brother?"

"It is true," he admitted, looking Thor in the eyes.

Thor nodded.

"If Odin is dead then I am the rightful king of Asgard. You all now swear your allegance to me!"

With that, every single one of the warriors bowed in respect.

Thor looked them all over, shaking his head.

Hogunn, being one of the braver warriors, finally spoke up.

"How may we serve you?"

"By going back to Asgard, and swearing to never harm my brother in any way again. To do so will be a death sentence to you - I can promise that."

00

By dawn the remaining warriors had been sent back to Asgard. Thor, Loki , Jane and Frigga had gone with them, but not before saying goodbye to the Avengers.

"You know, I'll actually miss you," Tony said, placing a hand on Loki's shoulder. "Not that I'll ever admit that again."

Loki smiled. "I will miss you too. And the rest of you, as well." He turned to face the rest of the team, who were gathered around. "Thank you for everything."

"You think you'll be okay with Thor as ruler of Asgard?" Steve asked.

"Thor will be an excellent king. He has proven that."

"Good, 'cause I really don't want to have to fight off any more aliens.," the Captain replied. "But seriously, I'll miss you too." He leaned in to give Loki a hug.

A few seconds later, Thor spoke up.

"We should leave now. Friends, I will see you soon."

"Wait!" A female voice called out. It was Natasha. She came running over holding something in her hands. "You almost forgot this!" She handed the stuffed dragon to Loki.

"Arrow!" Loki answered, sounding more childish than he would have liked. "I mean, thank you."

Natasha snickered. "No problem Loki. We'll see you later."

With that, Heimdall opened the portal and the Asgardians disappeared.


End file.
